Falcons Fall To Mammoths, 84-62

Amherst, Mass. – The Fitchburg State Men's Basketball team dropped an 84-62 decision to the Mammoths of Amherst College this afternoon at the LeFrak Gymnasium in the championship game of the 2019 Ken Wright Invitational on the campus of Amherst College.

 The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 62, Amherst 84
Records: Fitchburg State (4-2) I Amherst (3-0)

How It Happened

1st half

Amherst opened the contest on a 12-0 run, capped by an Eric Sellew (Carlisle, Mass.) jumper before Fitchburg State were able to knot the score at 16-16 on a pair of free-throws from senior Nicholas Tracy (Indianapolis, Ind.).

The Falcons grabbed 20-18 edge as senior Jordan Jones (Worcester, Mass.) connected on a jumper, but Mammoths went on a 24-3 run over an 11 minute span towards the end of the half with Fru Che (Somerville, Mass.) hitting a jumper to close out the streak. The visitors cut the lead to 42-25 going into the break when Jones netted a pair of free throws.

2nd half

Following the intermission, Fitchburg State chipped into the deficit when sophomore Devon Johnson (Washington, D.C.) to make the score 54-35. The Green and Gold continued to battle as senior Devan Harris (Danvers, Mass.) notched a layup (66-47) before Amherst responded with a bucket from Michael Schretter (Ridgewood, N.J.) for the 68-47 margin.

The Falcons responded with a three ball by Jones and a Trevian Hinson (Tampa, Fla.) layup (80-56. Amherst countered as Dan Schlakman (Sharon, Mass.) registered a jumper before Fitchburg State closed out the scoring on baskets from junior Anthony Diaz (Harrisburg, Penn.) and sophomore Eian Gannon (Clinton, Mass.), resulting in the 84-62 final.

Inside the Numbers

• Falcons were led by Tracy with a team-leading 18 points, six boards and two steals
• Johnson and Jones combined for 23 points for Fitchburg State
• Che paced the Mammoths with a game-best 22 points and nine caroms
• Sellew chipped in with a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds for Amherst
• Second meeting between the two teams on the basketball court with the Falcons 0-2 all-time vs the Mammoths
• Fitchburg State shot 24-for-60 (40.0%) from the field and (1-of-17) 5.9% from three point range
• Amherst finished 33-of-81 (40.7%) overall and (11-for-39) 28.2% for beyond the arc
• Mammoths held a 56-31 margin on the glass

Up Next

Falcons will host the Hawks of Becker College on Monday for a non-conference tilt, starting at 6:00 PM. Mammoths will travel to Westfield State University on Tuesday for a non-conference matchup at 6:00 PM.