WPI Clips Fitchburg State, 84-74

Torres and London lead Falcon attack with a combined 48 point effort

FITCHBURG, Mass. (December 6, 2008) - Senior Brian Torres (North Dighton, Mass./Dighton Rehoboth) notched a game-high 26 points and eight rebounds as the Fitchburg State men's basketball team suffered a tough 84-74 loss to WPI in non-conference action today.

COLIN LONDON

Torres led the Falcon offensive threat with a hot hand, shooting 11-of-16 from the field, including 3-of-6 from three point range. Junior transfer Colin London (Worcester, Mass./Doherty) was also strong for the Falcons, totaling 22 points and five boards, while senior Jeff Kozik (Auburn, Mass./Auburn) added six points and a team-high nine rebounds.

Sophomore Ben Etten (Hollis, N.H./Hollis-Brookline) notched a team-high 21 points and nine boards to lead the WPI attack. Etten hit 9-of-18 from the field, including 3-of-6 from long distance. Freshman Jerome Stewart (Bloomfield, Conn./NW Catholic) netted 18 points and three steals for the Engineers, while senior NT Izuchi (Boston, Mass./John D. O'Bryant) and classmate Adam Lirette (Dover, N.H./Dover) chipped with ten.

Fitchburg State held a slim 30-29 lead at the break led by the shooting of Torres. Torres collected 14 first half points for the Falcons, while knocking down 3-of-4 three-pointers. Fitchburg State grabbed a six point lead with 6:34 minutes remaining in the half, but WPI rallied off a 10-5 run in the final minutes to come within one point of tying the match.

In the second half, both teams played evenly, exchanging leads four times by the 11 minute mark. The Falcons gained some momentum midway through the period, putting together a 14-4 run over a 4:41-span to gain a 57-48 advantage. The Engineers responded with their own 22-13 run in the final five minutes to knot the game 70-70 at the end of regulation.

In overtime, WPI came out firing, outscoring Fitchburg 14-4 in the period. Lirette led the Engineers with seven points, including four clutch free throws late in the extra frame, while Etten hit a dagger from beyond the arc.

Fitchburg State (3-3, 0-0 MASCAC) will be in action again next Thursday as it hosts Anna Maria College at 7 p.m. WPI (7-1, 0-0 NEWMAC) will host UMass Boston on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

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WPI 84, Fitchburg State 74