Falcons Clipped By Engineers, 63-56

Fitchburg, Mass. – The Fitchburg State University men's basketball team dropped a 63-56 decision to the Engineers of WPI in non-conference action this afternoon at the Parkinson Gymnasium.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 56, WPI 63
Records: Fitchburg State (2-6) | WPI (6-0)

How It Happened

The Falcons opened up the contest with a 4-2 lead on a jumper from junior Nicholas Tracy (Indianapolis, Ind.)  and single free-throws from freshman Tayjaun McKenzie (Lynn, Mass.0 and junior Kameron Jimenez-Fox (Boston, Mass.). Four straight points from sophomore Reid Walker (Lithia, Fla.) gave the Engineers a 11-6 margin with 13:21 to play. 

The Green and Gold answered with an 8-0 run on buckets from Jonathan Perez (Lowell, Mass.), Charlie Ollis (Mobile, Ala.), Charles Doss (Fitchburg, Mass.), and Tracy to re-take the lead 14-11. Back-to-back deep trey from sophomore Kahleb Downing (Middletown, Conn.) cut the deficit to 20-19 for the Engineers and a pair from the charity stipe from sophomore Jake Needleman (Morganville, NJ) gave the visitors a one point advantage (23-22) heading into intermission.

The Falcons opened the second with three-point play from Tracy and layups from McKenzie and Jimenez-Fox to hold a 29-27 margin. However, the Engineers went on a 12-4 run to gain a 39-33 lead in the see-saw affair.

Trailing 51-47 with 7:03 to play, four points from Jimenez-Fox made the score 53-51 then WPI followed with a Walker jumper from the corner and a technical foul free-throw from Needleman to lead by five (56-51).

The Engineers held on down the stretch for the 63-56 final.

Inside the Numbers,

Fitchburg State was led by Jimenez-Fox with a team-best 11 points, five rebounds, one assist and one steal, while Doss and Tracy added ten points each for the Green and Gold.

For WPI, Walker finished with a game-leading 16 points and 12 caroms to go along with four assists, while Needleman chipped in with ten points, two rebounds, the assists and one steal.

Fitchburg State shot 21-for-58 36.2%) from the field and (13-of-25) 52.0% from the charity strip.

WPI went 22--for-63 (34.9%) overall and (14-of-21) 66.7% from the free-throw line.

The Enigneers finished with a slim 47-43 advantage on the glass, while the Falcon held a 26-13 margin in bench points.

This afternoon's contest marked the 16th meeting between the two squads on the basketball court with the Falcons currently 2-14 all-time when taking on the Engineers.

Fitchburg State had won two of the last three contests against WPI with the Engineers registering a 77-45 victory last season at the Harrington Gymnasium.

Up Next

Falcons will travel to Johnson & Wales University on Tuesday, December 4^th for a 7:00pm non-conference match-up, while WPI will head to Framingham State University to take on the Rams on the same night, tip-off slated for 7:00 pm.