Men's Basketball Edged by Fitchburg State, 73-69

FITCHBURG, Mass. -- The Fitchburg State University men's basketball team held off visiting Bridgewater State University, 73-69, in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) matchup on Wednesday night at Parkinson Gymnasium.

The Falcons improve to 6-16 on the season and 4-7 in the MASCAC, while the Bears fall to 4-17 overall and 2-8 in conference play. Fitchburg swept the season series as the Falcons also defeated the Bears back on January 22nd, 87-75, at Bridgewater.

Sophomore forward Quincy Taylor (Boston, Mass.) posted a double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds to lead the way for the Falcons. Taylor connected on 6 of 8 field goal attempts and seven of his game-high 14 boards came off the offensive glass. He also recorded two assists, one steal and two blocked shots.

Freshman guard Frederick Siayor (Worcester, Mass.) checked in with a game-high 17 points to go along with three rebounds in 27 minutes off the bench for Fitchburg State, while sophomore guard Nathaniel Semedo (Bridgewater, Mass.) added 11 points, five rebounds and three assists in 17 minutes off the bench.

Graduate forward Jordan Wetterlind (Twig, Minn.) recorded his first double-double of the season to lead way for Bridgewater State. Wetterlind scored 12 points and pulled down a season-high 11 rebounds, including seven offensive boards. He also dished out four assists.

Freshman guard Quinton Champagne (Wrentham, Mass.) netted a team-leading 14 points for the Bears to go along with five rebounds, two assists and a game-high five steals.

The Falcons held a 30-29 advantage following a tightly contested first half.  Fitchburg got up by as many as ten points on two separate occasions in the second half including a 63-53 lead with 2:47 remaining in the contest. Bridgewater then ripped off eight straight points in a span of 49 seconds to make it a two-point game (63-61) with 1:49 left to play. Wetterlind started the rally with a layup while Champagne knocked down a three-pointer and sophomore guard Justin Parsons (Portsmouth, R.I.) converted a traditional three-point play.

The hosts responded with a 5-0 stretch as junior guard Tajahn Joyner (Hadley, Mass.) notched a layup and two free-throws before Bridgewater State again cut the deficit to just two (71-69) when Champagne dropped in a layup with just four second left to play. The Bears fouled immediately, but Saiyor connected on a pair from the charity stripe to secure the victory for the Falcons.

Fitchburg State shot 48% (29-60) from the field and 29% (6-21) from three-point land. The Falcons went just 9-for-19 (47%) at the free throw line.

The Bears connected on just 34% (26-77) of their field goal attempt and finished 4-for-22 (18%) from beyond the arc and 13-for-20 (65%) at the stripe.

The two teams combined for 34 turnovers with the Bears forcing 19 Falcon miscues.

Bridgewater held a 19-16 edge in points off turnovers as well as a 40-30 advantage in points in the paint.

Both teams are back in action with MASCAC contests later this week, The Bears entertain the Trailblazers of MCLA on Friday night at 7:30. The game marks Senior Night for Bridgewater State. The Falcons wrap up regular season play on Saturday afternoon when they travel to Westfield State University for a two o'clock game with the Owls.