Boston, Mass. - Senior center Rob Scarpato (Hopkington, Mass.) netted 18 points and came up with a big block late in the game to lead the Framingham State College men's basketball team over Lesley University, 73-71, to capture the 23rd Annual Hampton Inn Harbor Invitational today at the Clark Athletic Center on the UMass Boston campus. The tournament was hosted by University of Massachusetts Boston. The Rams win the tournament for the second straight year and improve to 3-2 on the season, while the Lynx fall to 2-3.
Freshman swingman Royce Veal (Dorcester, Mass.) took a pass from senior point guard Michael Costa (Holbrook, Mass.) and went baseline with a good lay-up to give Framingham State a 73-71 lead with five seconds left in the contest, before Lesley University called timeout to set up one final play. The Lynx needed to go the length of the court to tie the contest. Senior guard Joseph Chatman (Boston, Mass.) took the inbounds pass and dribbled up the sideline before the ball was knocked out of bounds near midcourt with 0.9 seconds remaining. Senior swingman Mark Stevens (Las Vegas, Nev.) caught the inbounds pass and heaved up a three-pointer, but it was off the mark and the Rams came away with the victory.
Framingham State owned a 62-56 lead with 5:57 to play in the game, before junior forward Malcolm Andrews (Medford, Mass.) made a lay-up to cap seven straight points for Lesley, giving it a 63-62 edge with 3:57 showing in the second stanza. The Rams reclaimed the lead and later owned a 69-65 margin, but the Lynx reeled off six unanswered points to take a 71-69 lead with 57 seconds left in the game. Freshman swingman Michael Hines (Boston, Mass.) converted a pair of free throws for Framingham State to tie the contest at 71-all with 45 seconds remaining in the game and Scarpato came up with a block, with 22 seconds to play, on Lesley's next possession, to set up the Rams winning possession.
The teams played close throughout the entire first half with each owning a largest lead of no more than five points, before Framingham State claimed a 33-30 lead at the intermission.
The Rams came out blazing in the second half, putting together a 12-2 run, fueled by seven points from Scarpato, to take a 45-32 lead with 16:54 showing in the second half. Framingham State maintained a 48-35 advantage with 16:28 to go in the contest, but Lesley wouldn't back down, going on a 22-6 run, paced by seven points from Stevens, to take a 54-51 lead with 9:22 to play in the game. The Rams collected themselves and went on an 11-2 stretch to take a 62-56 lead with 5:57 remaining in the contest.
Scarpato was 7-10 from the floor and added six rebounds, two steals and two assists for Framingham State, while Hines finished with 14 points, two rebounds, three assists and a steal. Sophomore forward Josue Almodovar (Holyoke, Mass.) netted 13 points, grabbed six rebounds and dished for three assists and was named the Tournament Most Valuable Player, while Costa found a spot on the All-Tournament team after scoring 11 points, passing for six assists and pulling down three rebounds. Stevens led the Lynx with a game-high 23 points to go with five rebounds, five assists, a steal and a block and was named to the All-Tournament team, while Andrews posted a double-double of 13 points and 13 boards in addition to two assists, a pair of steals and a block. Chatman was also selected to the All-Tournament team after netting 13 points and adding three rebounds, five assists and two steals.
The Rams will be in action again when they travel to Williamstown, MA to take on Williams College on November 27 at 7:30 p.m., while Lesley will host Colby Sawyer College on December 1 at 1:00 p.m.
To learn more about the Lesley University men's basketball team, please visit their website.
The 23rd Annual Hampton Harbor Invitational All-Tournament Team
Jimmy Lopez, G - UMaine at Fort Kent (13.5 ppg., 1.5 apg., 2.0 spg., 10-26 FG, 5-13 3PT FG)
Terrell Maddox, C - UMass Boston (17.0 ppg., 5.0 rpg., 1.0 apg., 0.5 spg., 1.5 bpg., 15-24 FG, 4-7 FT)
Mark Stevens, G/F - Lesley University (21.5 ppg., 6.0 rpg., 3.5 apg., 1.0 spg., 0.5 bpg., 17-33 FG, 5-12 3PT FG, 4-4 FT)
Joseph Chatman, G - Lesley University (23.0 ppg., 3.5 rpg., 3.5 apg., 2.0 spg., 13-23 FG, 3-4 3PT FG, 17-19 FT)
Michael Costa, G - Framingham State College (14.5 ppg., 3.0 rpg., 5.5 apg., 0.5, spg., 11-20 FG, 2-2 3PT FG, 5-6 FT)
Tournament MVP: Josue Almodovar, F - Framingham St. (13.0 ppg., 6.5 rpg., 3.5 apg., 0.5 spg., 0.5 bpg., 10-26 FG, 2-3 3PT FG, 4-6 FT)