Men’s Basketball Gives up Late Lead; Fall to Fitchburg State, 91-88

WORCESTER, Mass. – In a game that saw nine ties and seven lead changes, the Worcester State men's basketball team gave up a late lead and fell to the visiting Falcons of Fitchburg State 91-88 in a Saturday afternoon Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) game.

THE BASICS

January 20, 2018

Lancer Gymnasium

Score: Fitchburg State 91, Worcester State 88

Records: Fitchburg State (6-10, 2-2 MASCAC) | Worcester State (1-16, 0-4 MASCAC)

1^ST HALF

Worcester State attained a quick 10-point within three minutes of play on buckets from Will Watkins Jr. (Southbridge, Mass.), Emeka Eguatu (Worcester, Mass.), Joe Desormier (Granby, Mass.) and Shaun McCarthy (Oxford, Mass.). The Falcons chipped away at the Lancers' lead and knotted the score at 14-14 with 12:01 to go in the first half. There were two more ties until Desormier launched a triple with 8:11 on the clock to give the Blue and Gold a 21-20 edge. Fitchburg State came back with a Noah Fleury (Weymouth, Mass.) layup on the next possession to give the Falcons their first lead of the game.  Fitchburg held the lead for the next three and a half minutes until Worcester State's Cal Howes (Maynard, Mass.) tied the score at 28-28 with a three. The half saw two additional ties until Fitchburg State pushed ahead with a jumper and a layup from Tyrell St. John (Stamford, Conn.) and Brandon Harris (San Bernardino, Calif.), respectively. The visitors went into the locker room with a 38-34 edge over the Lancers.

2^ND HALF

Eguatu opened the second half with a layup, but Fitchburg State went on a 7-0 run to gain a 9-point lead with 18:38 on the clock. Worcester State came within one with 14 minutes to go succeeding back-to-back triples from Watkins. Fitchburg scored on the next possession, but Worcester State managed to tie the game at 57-57 with a Manny Green (Boston, Mass.) free throw and a Watkins layup. There were a few more lead changes, but Worcester State held a slim lead with under five minutes to go.  It wasn't until 43 seconds were left on the clock that Fitchburg took an 88-89 lead on a layup from St. John. A foul from Fitchburg State then put Worcester at the line, but the Lancers were not able to secure a lead on free throws. Worcester State then was forced to foul Fitchburg to stop the clock. Joshua Bosworth (Springfield, Mass.) made 1-of-2 free throws to give the Falcons a 90-88 advantage with 24 seconds on the clock. Worcester State the lost the ball on the next possession and were forced to foul, once again. Fleury made 1-of-2 free throws to give the Falcons a 3-point edge. Worcester State had 10 seconds remaining on the clock to attempt a 3-point play to stay in it, but were unable to convert, resulting in the Fitchburg win.

A NUMBER'S GAME

• McCarthy led all scoring with 32 points, going 12-for-16 (75%) from the field and 8-for-9 (88.9%) from the charity stripe.
• Other top scorers for Worcester State were Watkins and Howes with 17 and 11 points, respectively.
• Desormier logged seven points, five rebounds, five assists and one block in the setback.
• The Falcons' offense was led by Harris who had 20 points with five assists and two rebounds.
• Bosworth, St. John and Charles Doss (Fitchburg, Mass.) scored double-digits for Fitchburg State with 17-13-13 points, respectively.
• Fitchburg State held a 38-35 edge in rebounds.
• Despite the loss, Worcester State shot 55.2% (32-58) from the field and 43.5% (10-23) from behind the arc.
• Fitchburg State outshot the Lancers in free throws, going 16-for19 (84.2%) while Worcester State shot 70%.
• More than half of Fitchburg State's points (52) came from their bench.

UP NEXT

The Lancers return to the Lancer Gymnasium on Tuesday (Jan. 23) when they host Bridgewater State in a 7:30 p.m. MASCAC matchup. The Falcons return home and host Westfield State on the same date.

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