Fitchburg State 78, Worcester State 73
Worcester, MA --- The Worcester State men's basketball team, who trailed by as many as 18 points in the first half and 15 at the break, almost came all the way back in the second half before falling short to the visiting Falcons of Fitchburg State College by the final score of, 78-73, in men's MASCAC basketball action Tuesday evening in Lancer Gymnasium.
The loss drops Worcester State to 9-11 (2-5 MASCAC), while Fitchburg State improves to 14-4 (6-1 MASCAC).
The Falcons were lights out in the first half shooting 60% from the field on 15-of-25 shooting including 6-of-12 from beyond the arc. Fitchburg State's Brian Torres (N. Dighton, MA) paced the offensive attack with 10 points followed by junior Brian Skiffington (N. Adams, MA) who went for 9 points in the half. Worcester State was led by the senior duo of Ryan Frassica (Brockton, MA) and Will Spont (Bellingham, MA) who each tallied 9 points in the first stanza.
A 16-4 run by the Lancers to open the second half cut their deficit to three points with 14:08 remaining at, 46-43. The Falcons regained their footing pushing the margin back to 11 with 8:49 remaining with the score, 62-51, before Worcester State made their final push. A 14-4 run over a period of just under 4 minutes cut the lead to a single point at, 70-69 on a free throw by sophomore Patrick Hamilton (Templeton, MA) but that would be as close as they got as Fitchburg State made their shots down the stretch.
Worcester State was led by Frassica with a game-high 22 points. Spont finished with a double-double scoring 16 points and grabbing 15 boards. Sophomore Brandon Fortes (Pawtucket, RI) also reached double figures with 13 points. Fitchburg State had 5 players score in double digits. Jeff Kozik (Auburn, MA) and Tim Graham (Arlington, MA) each had 14 points. Torres posted 13 and Skiffington and Matt Collins (Southington, MA) each had 11.
Worcester State returns to action on Saturday when they travel to Westfield State. Fitchburg gets right back to it on Thursday when they host Newbury College.