Men's Basketball Drop Non-Conference Tilt To Pride

Fitchburg, MA – The Fitchburg State Men's Basketball team suffered a 75-53 setback to the Pride of Regis College this evening in non-conference action from the Parkinson Gymnasium.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 68, Regis 84

Fitchburg State (2-13, 0-2 MASCAC) I Regis 6-8, 1-2 GNAC)

How It Happened

1st half

Regis raced out to an early 7-2 lead on a bucket from senior Cameron Wilkins (Taunton, MA) before Fitchburg State trimmed the deficit to 9-6 as freshman Matthew Drayton (Boston, MA) and senior Javon Taylor (Cambridge, MA) connected on buckets. The Pride pushed the advantage to 21-9 as graduate student Zakaria Latiff (Holliston, MA) buried a trio of three balls, but the Falcons answered back with a three pointer from newcomer Anthony Joseph (Palm Bay, FL) to make the score 26-14.

The visitors extended the margin to 28-14 on a pair of free-throws by junior Tate Pike (Bellingham, MA), but the Green and Gold responded as freshman Jackson Owens (Buford, GA) notched a jumper. The Falcons cut the lead to 39-22 on a trio from the charity stripe by Drayton before Regis took a 43-24 edge into the break on a layup from junior Robert McAvoy (Norton, MA).

2nd Half

Following the intermission, Fitchburg State opened the second half on a 7-2 run as Drayton connected on a three pointer and a layup, while freshman Tyrone Countrymon (Boston, MA) added a jumper (45-31) before Regis answered with a bucket by sophomore Jamir Harvey (Robbins, IL) to make the score 49-31.

The two teams traded buckets with junior Russell Rau (Fitchburg, MA) notching a bucket for the Pride, while newcomer Donald Brown Jr (Baltimore, MD) collected the Falcons basket. The Green and Gold reduced the deficit to 57-49 as freshman Tryston Ofoh (Baltimore, MD) netted a pair of buckets and a Joseph jumper, but Harvey connected on a layup to up the lead to 61-49 for the Pride. Fitchburg State answered back with Drayton hitting a layup before Regis secured the victory on a Harvey layup, resulting in the 84-68 final.

Inside the Numbers                                                                                                 

• Falcons were led by Drayton with a team-best 19 points, four boards and one assist
• Freshman Kamau Franks (Converse, TX) added ten points, eight rebounds, one steal and one block
• For the Pride, Latifi finished with a game-leading 21 points, two caroms, two assists, one steal and one block
• Harvey chipped in 14 points, one board, two assists and three steals
• Ninth meeting between Fitchburg State and Regis on the hardwood with the Falcons 4-5 all-time when taking on the Pride
• Fitchburg State shot 26-for-65 (40.0%) from the field and (2-of-10) 20.0% from three-point range
• Regis finished 30-of-62 (48.4%) overall and (12-for-23) 52.2% for beyond the arc
• Pride held a slim 39-38 edge on the glass

Up Next

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

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