Bears Claw Past Falcons

Bridgewater, Mass.  – The Fitchburg State men's basketball dropped a 102-84 decision to the Bears of Bridgewater State in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action on Wednesday evening at the Tinsley Center. 

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 84, Bridgewater State 102
Records: Fitchburg State (9-14, 4-7 MASCAC) | Bridgewater State (17-7, 7-4 MASCAC)

How It Happened

The first half featured three ties and seven lead changes. The Falcons' raced out to a 7-0 advantage with five points from Frederick Siayor (Worcester, Mass.) and a layup from Tajahn Joyner (Amherst, Mass.). After a trey from Mikal Garcia (Fresno, Tx.) the teams were knotted at 19-19.  Clinging to a two-point advantage (38-36) with three minutes remaining, the Bears closed out the stanza with a 9-2 run to take a 47-37 lead into the break. 

The Bears shot 51.2% (21-41) from the floor and knocked down 5 of 14 (35.7%) three-point attempts over the first 20 minutes, while the Falcons converted 44.4% (16-36) of their field goal attempts and went 3-for-11 (27.3%) from behind the arc. Fitchburg made the only trips to the free throw line as the Falcons were 3-for-3 at the stripe. 

After scoring just the four points over the first 7 ½ minutes of the second half, the Falcons came soaring back tallying 37 points over the next nine minutes to make things interesting. Matthew Tanis (Hialeah, Fla.) connected on a jumper with 3:30 left to play cut the Fitchburg deficit to ten (89-79). However, a pair of free throws and a layup by Kikuba quickly pushed the BSU lead back up to 14 (93-79) and the Falcons would get no closer than 12 the rest of the way.

Inside the Numbers

• Sophomore guard Siayor paced Fitchburg State with 25 points, three rebounds, two assists, three blocks, and a game-best six steals.
• Junior forward Quincy Taylor (Boston, Mass.) posted a double-double with 18 points and 11 boards (six offensive) for the Falcons, while sophomore guard Tanis checked in with 11 points, six rebounds, five assists, and three steals.
• Fitchburg shot 43% (37-86)) from the floor, just 18.2% (4-22) from three-point range, and 70% (7-10) at the line.
• Bridgewater shot 51.9% (40-77) for the game and finished 9-for-22 (40.9%) from behind the arc and 13-for-19 at the charity stripe. 
• The Bears held a 53-39 advantage on the boards

Up Next

Falcons return to action on Saturday when they host the Owls of Westfield State in a MASCAC match-up starting at 12 PM.