Men's Basketball Edged By Bears In Conference Tilt

Jackson nets game best 34 points for Green & Gold

Fitchburg, Mass. – Junior Jalen Jackson (San Antonio, TX) led all scorers with 34 points, but the Fitchburg State men's basketball team fell to the Bears of Bridgewater State, 107-98, Wednesday evening at Parkinson Gymnasium.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 98, Bridgewater State 107

Records: Fitchburg State (6-6, 0-1 MASCAC), Bridgewater State (3-9, 1-0 MASCAC)

How It Happened

The Fitchburg State Falcons opened the contest with a 4–0 run before the Bears answered with a three-pointer to trim the early deficit. Joshua Jean Charles (Dorchester, MA) followed his own miss with a tip-in to give the hosts a slim 8–7 advantage, but Bridgewater State took its first lead at the 15:09 mark on a three from Zach Taylor.

The Falcons stayed within striking distance as buckets from Kobe Witherow-Bass (Sacramento, CA) and Xavier Smaltz (Allentown, PA) cut the margin to 21–16. With just under eight minutes remaining in the half, Matthew Drayton (Roxbury, MA) sparked a run with a basket, a steal, and a free throw to make it a 32–26 game. On the ensuing possession, Jalen Jackson knocked down a jumper off a designed out-of-bounds play to keep the momentum going.

Bridgewater State responded with five straight points to extend its lead to double digits at 39–28 with six minutes to play. Fitchburg countered with stout defense and a 5–0 run fueled by the hot hand of Jackson before Louis Jennings converted a layup to halt the surge. The Falcons finished the half strong, scoring six consecutive points to head into the break trailing 49–41.

Joshua Jean Charles jump-started the Falcons to open the second half, converting a pair of layups to cut the margin to 51–45. Bridgewater State answered with a 10–0 run over the next four minutes to push its advantage to 65–50. Fitchburg responded with a 6–0 spurt, highlighted by a basket from Kobe Witherow-Bass and four points from Jalen Jackson, trimming the deficit to 68–62.

Trailing 79–69, the Falcons stayed within striking distance as Jeremiah Simeon and Jackson each scored before Matthew Drayton took over, rattling off five straight points to make it an 80–78 contest. With 8:02 remaining, Drayton connected again to tie the game at 82-all.

Senior Tyriek Williams (Canonsburg, PA) grabbed an offensive rebound and finished the putback to give Fitchburg its first lead of the second half at 84–82. After the game was knotted at 88–88, Bridgewater regained momentum with a jumper from Abdoul Bah and a three-point play by Louis Jennings to build a 93–88 advantage. Kobe Witherow-Bass kept the Falcons close with a layup to make it 98–93, but the Bears pulled away down the stretch to secure the 107-98 final.

Inside the Numbers

• Shooting: Fitchburg State 46.9% (38-81), Bridgewater State 61.6% (33-54)
• Three Point Shooting: Bridgewater State 42.9% (12-28), Fitchburg State 30% (6-20)
• Jackson led the Falcons with 34 points and 9 rebounds
• Drayton chipped in with 17 points, and Jean Charles added 10 points and 9 rebounds

Up Next

Falcons return to action on Saturday, when they host Framingham State University at 2:00 PM

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