Men's Basketball squanders halftime lead in loss to Fitchburg State

Fitchburg, MA- The host Fitchburg State men's basketball team found themselves down 37-26 at halftime to visiting MCLA on Saturday.  The Falcons responded by outscoring the Trailblazers 59-31 in the closing half to earn an 85-68 win over the Trailblazers.  With the win, the Falcons are now 14-9 on the season and are 7-3 in the MASCAC.  MCLA drops to 6-17 overall and 2-9 in league play.

The Falcons shot just 33% in the opening half which included an 0-8 showing from beyond the arc as they trailed by 11 points to MCLA.  The hosts rebounded though beginning the second half on a 14-2 run to grab the lead at 40-39 with 16:19 to play.  The run stunned the Trailblazers as they Falcons grabbed the lead for keeps when Leonny Burgos connected from long range at the 14:44 mark giving the hosts a 46-43 edge.

That triple ignited an 11-2 spurt that put the Falcons on top 54-45 and they never looked back. The lead grew to as many as 21 points late in the second half as FSU cruised to victory.  While the Falcons didn't shoot well in the opening half, they converted at a 62% clip in the decisive half.

Josh Bosworth led five Falcons in double figures with 18 points.  Kwame Lee ended with 16 points and 4 blocked shots in the win.  Others scoring in double figures were Burgos and Givaughn Jones with 14 apiece, while Lance Hill came off the bench to score 10.  The Falcons held a slim 48-43 edge off the glass and overcame 14 turnovers in the win.

For MCLA, Adam Conquest notched a double double of 13 points and 10 boards.  Dakari Hannah Wornum also collected a double double scoring 10 points and snagging a game high 13 rebounds.  He added 6 blocks to the stat sheet.  Paul Maurice ended with 12 points and Careem Kirksey added 10 in defeat.  Ki-Shawn Monroe chipped in with 6 assists for the Trailblazers.

MCLA shot just 36% from the floor on the afternoon and also had 14 turnovers.  

The Trailblazers begin the final week of the regular season on Tuesday night at 7:30pm when they host non league foe Pine Manor at 7:30pm.