Framingham, MA - The Framingham State College men's basketball
team held off a second half comeback by the Fitchburg State Falcons
to pick up an 89-82 win today in Massachusetts State College
Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action at Framingham's Athletic
Center. With the win the Rams improve to 11-9 on the season
and 3-4 in conference, while the Falcons fall to 6-11 overall and
1-6 in the MASCAC.
Junior forward Josue Almodovar (Holyoke, MA) led four Rams in
double figures as he picked up his ninth double double of the
season with 29 points on 11-of-17 shooting from the field to go
along with a game-high 13 rebounds. Almodovar continues to
climb the Framingham State All-Time scoring list and moved into
13th with his 29 points today. Classmate Roderick
Jackson (Cambridge, MA) connected on 10-of-14 from the floor (71%)
for 21 points and hauled in five boards. Junior guards Bill Carey
(Abington, MA) and Chad Dixon (Brockton, MA) each chipped in 11
points. Dixon also had four assists and three steals.
The Falcons were led by senior guard Brian Torres (N. Dighton,
MA) who had 29 points on 11-of-16 shooting from the field to go
along with six boards. Junior center Timothy Graham
(Arlington, MA) added 18 points and nine boards, while junior guard
Jeffrey Kozik (Auburn, MA) had a solid all around game with 12
points, seven boards, nine assists and four steals.
The Rams shot 71% from the floor (22-31) in the first half and
led by as many as 22 points, while the Falcons shot only 31.6% in
the opening frame. In the second half, the tables turned as
the Rams struggled from the floor shooting only 38% while the
Falcons heated up connecting on 16-of-31 (52%).
The Falcons were able to chip away at the Rams lead in the
second half and trailed by only eight with 6:52 remaining in the
game. They continued to cut into the lead and trailed by only
two at 74-72 with 3:13 remaining. The Rams pushed the lead
back to six after back to back layups from Almodovar and
Dixon. The Falcons were forced to foul in the last minute and
the Rams connected on 9 of 12 free throws to seal the win.
The Rams return to action on Tuesday night as they travel to
Bridgewater State at 7:30 p.m. while the Falcons travel to Newbury
on Thursday at 7 p.m.
