Fitchburg State Falls To Framingham State, 89-82

Torres tallies a team-high 29 points in Falcons conference setback

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. (January 31, 2009) - Senior Brian Torres (North Dighton, Mass./Dighton-Rehoboth) recorded 29 points and six rebounds as Fitchburg State suffered a tough 89-82 setback to MASCAC foe Framingham State College this afternoon.

Torres led the Fitchburg State attack on 11-of-16 shooting from the field, including 4-of-7 from beyond the arc. Junior Tim Graham (Arlington, Mass./Arlington) was also solid offensively for the Falcons, as he was only one rebound shy of a double-double with 18 points and nine boards. Senior Jeff Kozik (Auburn, Mass./Auburn) rounded out the Falcons big three with 12 points and seven rebounds.

Junior forward Josue Almodovar (Holyoke, Mass./Holyoke) 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. Classmate Roderick Jackson (Cambridge, Mass./Cambridge) connected on 10-of-14 from the floor (71%) for 21 points and hauled in five boards. Junior guards Bill Carey (Abington, Mass./Abington) and Chad Dixon (Brockton, Mass./Brockton) each chipped in 11 points.  Dixon also had four assists and three steals.

Framingham State shot 71% from the floor (22-31) in the first half and led by as many as 22 points, while Fitchburg State 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.  Fitchburg State 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.

Fitchburg State (6-11, 1-6 MASCAC) will be in action again on Thursday as it travels to Newbury College at 7 p.m. Framingham State (11-9, 3-4 MASCAC) will travel to Bridgewater State on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

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Framingham State 89, Fitchburg State 82