Men’s Basketball Edged By Trailblazers In MASCAC Action

Drayton nets game-best 28 points for Green & Gold

Fitchburg, MA – The Fitchburg State Men's Basketball team dropped a tough 88-85 decision to the Trailblazers of MCLA this evening in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action from the Parkinson Gymnasium.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 85, MCLA 88

Records: Fitchburg State (11-13, 5-8 MASCAC) | MCLA (8-14, 5-8 MASCAC)

How It Happened

First Half

MCLA opened the contest with a 5-0 edge as Colin Quinn hit a three-pointer and Jayden Mills connected on a layup before Fitchburg State knotted the contest at 5-5 as junior Matthew Drayton (Roxbury, MA) and classmate Tommy Engel-Chatten (Hopkinton, MA) netted buckets.

Trailing 16-14, the Trailblazers retied the contest at 16-16 on a basket by Craig Williams, but the Falcons grabbed a 20-16 margin when junior Xavier Smaltz (Allentown, PA) and Drayton notched buckets, The Green and Gold pushed the advantage to 25-19 with junior Joshua Jean Charles (Dorchester, MA) netting a layup and three-ball from classmate Takoma Rosario (Vista, CA).

The visitors cut the deficit to 27-26 as Kamua Franks registered a layup before the Falcons took a 36-28 advantage into the break on baskets by Jean Charles and Drayton.

Second Half

Following the intermission, Fitchburg State upped the lead to 40-31 on layups by junior Kobe Witherow-Bass (Sacramento, CA) and Jean Charles, but MCLA answered back with Kymani Hartley knocking down a three-pointer to make the score 40-34.

The Falcons extended the lead to 54-47 as junior Jaiden Greene (Adelanto, CA) connected on back-to-back layups before the Trailblazers responded with a three-ball by Colby Burleson to reduce the lead to 68-62.

The Green and Gold answered back with Rosario draining a three-pointer to push the lead to 71-67 before the visitors rallied back to tie the contest at 76-76 when Frank Field hit a layup. The Falcons regained the lead (79-77) as Rosario buried another three-ball, but MCLA took the back for good when Williams knocked down a three-pointer for the 80-79 lead Williams proceeded to sink two free-throws on the following possession, resulting in the 88-85 final

Inside the Numbers

• Drayton led the way for the Falcons with a game-best 28 points, four boards, two assists and one block
• Jean Charles added 13 points, ten boards, one assist and one steal
• For the Trailblazers, Williams finished with a team-leading 27 points, four caroms, and five assists
• Field chipped in with 25 points, eight rebounds, one assist and one block
• Fitchburg State shot 34-for-69 (49.3%) from the field and (9-of-17) 52.9% from three point range
• MCLA finished at 26-of-62 (41.9%) overall and (12-for-32) 37.5% from beyond the arc
• The Falcons held a slim 38-37 advantage on the glass

Up Next

Falcons return to action on Saturday as they travel to Westfield State to take on the Owls for a MASCAC matchup, starting at 2:00PM.

STAY CONNECTED:

- For the latest on Fitchburg State University Athletics, follow the Falcons via social media on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.