WORCESTER, Mass. – The Worcester State men's basketball team dropped a 90-89 overtime decision to the visiting Falcons of Fitchburg State Saturday afternoon in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) matchup inside the Lancer Gymnasium.
Fitchburg State's Lance Hill (Springfield, Mass.) led all scoring with 25 points – nine of which were scored in the overtime period to help the Falcons in the win. Hill went 7-for-15 (46.7%) from the field, 3-for-7 (42.9%) from beyond the arc, and 8-for-9 (88.9%) from the free throw line to total the 25. Fitchburg's Jaleel Bell (Dorchester, Mass.) was next in the points categories with 15 and led the Falcons with a team-high nine boards, four steals, and three blocks. Joshua Bosworth (Springfield, Mass.) and Jalen Williams (Meriden, Conn.) chipped in 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Junior guard Jamal Mustapha (Worcester, Mass.) led the Lancers with 20 points while Paul Brooks (Arlington, Mass.) registered a double-double of 16 points and 12 rebounds. Jeremy Bacon (Milford, Mass.) collected 17 points while Ryan DiBernardo (Springfield, Mass.) notched 11 and a team-high four steals.
After a few lead changes in the first few minutes of play, the Falcons generated a nine point lead following a one three from Lance and two back-to-back from Bell. The Falcons saw their largest lead of the half of 11 following an and-one from Mustapha Koroma (Lowell, Mass.) with six minutes remaining in the stanza. Worcester State trimmed the lead with a 7-0 run, including a triple from DiBernardo. After getting within four the Lancer allowed the foes to attain a greater lead again, and went into the halftime trailing by nine.
After allowing Fitchburg a basket to begin the second half, Worcester State's DiBernardo and Cal Howes (Maynard, Mass.) drained two back-to-back threes and senior Jeremy Bacon (Milford, Mass.) made a bucket to bring the game within three. Worcester State's Corey Gatta (Sturbridge, Mass.) tied the game up with 15:10 on the clock after he scored three consecutive baskets. The Lancers would shortly after see their first lead of the second half when Mickey Lyons (Burlington, Mass.) notched an offensive rebound and put the ball back for a 61-60 lead. Worcester State kept in the game and were up by two with 45 minutes to spare, however Hill made a layup with three second on the clock to tie the game at 80-80.
Fitchburg States' Hill dominated the overtime period, and the Falcons' defense left the Lancers with no three-point opportunity as they were down by three with just five seconds to go.
Despite the loss for the Lancers, Worcester State shot 48.1% as a team in comparison to Fitchburg's 39.2%. However, Fitchburg State racked up 21 of their points in free throws as they shot 70% as a team (21-of-30), while the Lancers only made 8-of-20 (40%).
Next up, the Worcester State (3-12, 1-2 MASCAC) travels to Bridgewater State for a 5:30 p.m. game on Wednesday (Jan. 18).