Regis Holds Off Fitchburg State, 72-64

Regis Holds Off Fitchburg State, 72-64
London nets 16 in Falcons first loss of 2008-09 season

WESTON, Mass. (November 22, 2008) - The Fitchburg State men's basketball team suffered its first loss of the season, falling to Regis College, 72-64 in non-conference action this evening at the Regis Athletic Arena.

            Junior Colin London (Worcester, Mass./Doherty) led the Fitchburg State attack with 16 points and eight boards, while classmate Tim Graham (Arlington, Mass./Arlington Catholic) added ten points and five rebounds. Sophomore Elliot Knower (Templeton, Mass./Narragansett) tallied a solid eight points for the Falcons, while posting a game-high 12 rebounds.

            Regis sophomore Derrick Neal (Boston, Mass.) led all scorers, registering a game-high 23 points on 6-of-11 shooting from field and 7-of-8 from the free-throw stripe. Junior James Cooper (Philadelphia, Penn.) and freshman Ta'Keame Gomes (Cambridge, Mass.) were also solid for the Pride, combining for 21 points and 12 rebounds.

            In the first half both teams played fairly even as Regis held a slim 35-32 lead at the break. Neal led the Pride with ten points and two boards, while London led the Falcons with nine points and four rebounds. Regis jumped out to a 14-8 lead just eight minutes into the contest as sophomore Josh Irvin (New Britain, Conn.) capped a 7-0 run with his first three pointer of the game. The Falcons battled back late as London connected for a jumper to close the Pride lead to 31-25.

            In the second half, Regis came out firing, going up by as much as eight points (48-40) at the 12:05 mark, but the Falcons cut rallied back with a 6-0 run midway through the frame to only trail by two. Neal ended the Falcons comeback with a five point scoring surge late in the period to put the Pride up by eight and secure their third straight victory.

            Fitchburg State (2-1, 0-0 MASCAC) will be in action again Tuesday as it host UMass Boston at 7:30 p.m. Regis (3-1, 0-0 NEWMAC) will take on Newbury College on December 2^nd at 7 p.m.

CLICK HERE FOR BOX SCORE & PLAY-BY-PLAY

 Regis 72, Fitchburg State 64