Lancers Top Falcons in OT
Fitchburg, Mass. – The Fitchburg State men's Basketball team fell to the Lancers of Worcester State 69-62 in overtime in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action on Wednesday evening at Parkinson Gymnasium
The Basics
Score: Fitchburg State 62, Worcester State 69 OT
Records: Fitchburg State (7-8, 2-2 MASCAC) | Worcester State
(12-5, 4-0 MASCAC)
How It Happened
The Falcons opened the match with six straight points from three different scorers. Senior Javon Taylor (Cambridge, Mass.), Dayne Allen (Revere, Mass.), and Frederick Siayor (Worcester, Mass.) each had buckets in the run. The Lancers responded with jumpers from Erik Bjorn (Holden, Mass.) and Aaron Nkrumah (Worcester, Mass.) to cut the deficit to 8-6. A layup from newcomer Tyrone Manderson (Saugus, Mass.) pushed the Falcons' lead to 12-6, and caused Worcester to call a timeout, with 11:55 on the clock.
Worcester reeled off five points capped with a pair from the charity stripe from Ryan Rubenskas (Bridgewater, Mass.) to make it a 12-11 ballgame, however, the Falcons answered with a jumper in the paint and a deep three from sophomore Matthew Tanis (Hialeah, Fla.) to give the Falcons a 17-13 lead.
Worcester State capitalized on a Falcons turnover for a fast-break bucket and a pair of free throws from Nkrumah to tie the game at 19-all. The Green and Gold finished out the half with five points from Siayor and a three-pointer at the buzzer from Tajahn Joyner (Amherst, Mass.) to take a 27-21 lead at intermission.
Worcester State came out firing, opening with an 11-3 run to take a 32-30 lead after a deep three ball from Nkrumah. Bjorn extended the lead for the visitors to 36-32 with a shot under the basket but Allen responded for the hosts with a layup to make the score 36-34 Lancers. Senior Zion Hendrix (Boston, Mass.) pushed the Lancer lead to 42-37 with a trey from the baseline.
With 5:22 remaining Javon Taylor sank a 3-pointer to keep it close at 46-43. Taylor then added a pair from the free-throw line to cut the Lancers' lead to 46-45. Trailing 47-45, Fitchburg State's Tanis drained a three-pointer to give the Falcons' the 48-47 lead. However, the Lancers' caused a turnover and a dunk from Rubenskas regained the lead (49-48) for Worcester State with 2:45 to play.
With 18 seconds remaining Siayor knotted the game at 51-51 with a three-pointer to send the game to overtime.
Worcester State opened extra time with a 6-0 run including a three-pointer from Dion. Joyner stopped the streak with a jumper at the elbow to make it a 59-55 game with 2:02 to play. The Lancers sealed the victory with free throws from Hendrix and Rubenskas resulting in the 69-62 victory.
Inside the Numbers
- Tanis paced the Falcons with 16 points off the bench. Allen added a game-high 16 rebounds and 9 points. Siayor added 12 points,
- For the Lancers, Rubenskas led the way with a double-double 22 points, and 11 rebounds. Nkrumah also chipped in a double-double with 20 points and 11 boards.
- Worcester State shot 20-for-69 (29%) from the field and (3-for-16) 18.8% from three-point range
- Fitchburg State finished 24-for-78 (30.4%) overall and (7-for-23) 30.4% for beyond the arc
- The Falcons held a 56-51 advantage on the boards
Up Next
The falcons return to action on Saturday when they host Bridgewater State starting at 12:00 PM.