Falcons Fall to Westfield on Senior Day

Fitchburg, Mass.  – The Fitchburg State men's basketball fell to the Owls of Westfield State 84-57 in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action on Saturday afternoon at Parkinson Gymnasium.

In a pre-game ceremony, the Falcons recognized seniors Tajahn Joyner (Amherst, Mass.), Mikal Garcia (Fresno, TX), Dayne Allen (Revere, Mass.) and Quincy Taylor (Boston, Mass.) for their contributions to the men's basketball team.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 84, Westfield State 57
Records: Fitchburg State (9-15, 4-8 MASCAC) | Westfield State (10-15, 8-4 MASCAC)

How It Happened

Knotted at 5-5 four minutes into the game the Owls connected with five points from JT Thompson (Columbia, SC). The Falcons answered with a jumper from Joyner and a trey from Garcia to tie the score at 10. The Owls regained the lead (16-12) with a jumper from Brendan Keaveny (Quincy, Mass.).

A pair of layups from Garcia and Allen kept the game close at 26-18 Westfield, with six minutes to play. Westfield State countered with a layup from Kobe Parker (Chicopee, Mass.) and a 3-pointer from Thompson to extend the lead (33-20). The visitors closed out the frame with a layup from Hamilton and pair from the charity stripe from Kumar Brown (Enfield, Mass.)

Trailing 48-27 in the second half the Falcons reeled off eight straight points including a tip-in from Allen and four points from Javon Taylor (Cambridge, Mass.), however, the Owls added a layup from Keaveny and a three-point play from Hamilton to pull away (65-40). Down the stretch, the Falcons added buckets from Allen, Taylor, and a layup from Clifford Fuakye (Worcester, Mass.)

Inside the Numbers

• Quincy Taylor paced the Falcons with 13 points and 15 rebounds for the double-double, while Allen added 13 points, and 9 rebounds.
• For the Owls, Thompson had a game-high 20 points and 3 rebounds. Keaveny added 16 points.
• Fitchburg State shot 22-for-56 (39.3%) from the field and (2-for-6) 33.3% from three-point range
• Westfield State finished 32-for-59 (54.2%) overall and (8-for-16) 50% for beyond the arc
• The Falcons held a 40-33 advantage on the boards

Up Next

Both the Falcons and the Owls have qualified for the MASCAC tournament. They await the conference announcement for the tournament schedule.