Western Connecticut Tops Fitchburg state, 95-82

Ingram-Rubin earns All-Tournament honors with 24 points

WESTON, Mass. (November 16, 2013) – The Fitchburg State University men's basketball team battled the Colonials of Western Connecticut State University this evening, falling 95-82 in the consolation game of the Regis College Tip-Off Tournament on Saturday evening.

Four different players registered points in the double-figures for Western, including sophomore guard Jeremiah Washington (Bridgeport, Conn.), who had a team-high 18 points. The trio of sophomore Ronnie Underwood (Bridgeport, Conn.) and juniors Luis Bridtter (Stamford, Conn.) and Jengodji Gates (New Haven, Conn.) contributed a collective 36 points for the victors.

After trading points in the opening minutes of the game, Western went on a 16-3 run over a four minute stretch to jump out to a 26-14 lead over the Falcons by the 12:10 mark. Despite some solid play by Fitchburg's Mike-Ingram-Rubin (Boston, Mass.) and Anthony Muccioli (Nashua, N.H.), who combined for 25 first half points, the Falcons were unable to bring the lead down to less than eight in the half.

The Colonials shot an impressive 63.9% from the field, including 7-for-11 shooting on three pointers to take a convincing 59-43 lead into the break. Washington knocked down 17 of his 18 points in the opening 20 minutes of play.

The Falcons (0-2) threw everything they had at Western in the second half, but could not manage to break through. Fitchburg cut the lead to as few as nine points on five separate occasions, but the Colonials were able to answer back each time.

Junior center Joseph Groski (New Milford, Conn.) had seven points and a monstrous 16 rebounds in the game and was able to help limit Fitchburg's offensive opportunities. Nonetheless, Ingram-Rubin had a game-high 24 points, 13 rebounds, and three steals, while Muccioli was not far behind with 22 points of his own.

Sophomore forward Josh Imadiyi (Lynn, Mass.) pitched in with a double-double of his own off of ten points and 13 rebounds for the Falcons.

Fitchburg State will have its home opener at 7 p.m. on Tuesday evening when it hosts Clark. West Conn. will continue their play on the road as they travel to The College of New Jersey at 8 p.m. on Wednesday.