Men's Basketball Upended By Engineers In Non-Conference Action

Semedo registers team-best 16 points for Green and Gold

Fitchburg, MA – The Fitchburg State men's basketball team suffered a 82-72 setback to the Engineers of MIT this evening in non-conference action from the Parkinson Gymnasium.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 72, MIT 82

Records: Fitchburg State (0-6, 0-0 MASCAC) | MIT (4-1, 0-0 NEWMAC)

How It Happened

First Half

Fitchburg State opened the contest with 22-10 advantage as sophomore Braeden White (Spencer, MA), classmate Matthew Drayton (Boston, MA), sophomore Jalen Jackson (San Antonio, TX) and classmate Kamau Franks (Converse, TX) all collected buckets before MIT answered back with a three pointer from senior Spencer Lin (Menlo Park, CA).

The Engineers trimmed the deficit to 24-22 when sophomore Isaac Dobie (Kitty Hawk, NC) connected on pair of three balls, but the Falcons countered with layups by junior Nicolas Van Zboray (Pollock Pines, CA) and newcomer Trevor Oliver (Douglas, MA) for the 28-22 advantage.

The visitors proceeded to go on a 12-0 run with senior Kade Killeen (Austin, TX) draining a trio of three pointers for the 38-33 edge going into the break.

Second Half

Following the intermission, Fitchburg State cut the lead to 40-36 with Jackson drilling a three pointer before MIT pushed the advantage to 47-36 as sophomore Merlin Gogolin (New York, NY) registered a layup.

The Green and Gold reduced the lead to 59-47 when junior Jalin Pitts (Palatka, FL) netted a layup, but the Engineers responded with a three-ball by Lin for the 64-47 margin. Fitchburg State answered back as senior Nathaniel Semedo (Bridgewater, MA) and Drayton knocked down a three-ball to make the score 72-58.

The Falcons battled back as Pitts converted an and one to cut the lead to 74-65, but MIT secured the victory when Gogolin sank a pair from the charity stripe, resulting in the 82-72 final.

Inside the Numbers

• Semedo led the way for the Falcons with a team-best 16 points, three caroms, two assists and three steals
• Drayton chipped in with 15 points, one rebound, one steal and one block
• For the Engineers, Dobie finished with a game-leading 25 points, seven rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block
• Gogolin added 18 points, nine boards, two assists, two steals and one block
• Tenth meeting between Fitchburg State and MIT on the basketball court with the Falcons 2-8 all-time when taking on the Engineers
• Fitchburg State shot 28-for-66 (42.4%) from the field and (6-of-17) 35.3% from three point range
• MIT finished 27-of-56 (48.2%) overall and (15-for-30) 50.0% for beyond the arc
• The Engineers held a 47-29 edge on the glass

Up Next

Falcons return to action on Saturday as they host the Lasers of Lasell University for a non-conference tilt, starting at 12:00PM.

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