Fitchburg State Tops Anna Maria, 79-64

Henneberry sparks Falcons to first win of the new year with 17 points

FITCHBURG, Mass. (January 3, 2013) – The Fitchburg State men's basketball team used a 41 point second half to register its sixth victory of the year, defeating Anna Maria College,  79-64 in non-conference action this evening.

Senior Tom Henneberry (Lexington, Mass./Lexington) led the Fitchburg State offense, totaling 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting for the game, while classmate Jeremy Kimber (Fitchburg, Mass./Fitchburg) added 12 points with 5-of-5 shooting for the night . Junior Mark Vickers (Boston, Mass./Snowden International) was also strong, chipping in with eight points.

Anna Maria received a strong effort from  senior Anthony Click (Springfield, Mass./Sabis) who led the AmCats with 19 points and eight boards. Junior Joey Barillo (Dania Beach, Fla./Sheridan Hills) was also solid with 11 points, while freshman Patrick Bradenese (Billerica, Mass./Billerica) connected for ten.

Fitchburg State held a slim 38-34 advantage at the end of the first period of play, but quickly jumped out to a seven point advantage just 2:15 into the second half. Vickers and Kimber led the Falcons 5-0 run with a lay-up and three pointer respectively, before Henneberry connected from beyond the arc at the 12:30 mark to put Fitchburg State up eight (50-42).

Anna Maria marched back with a trio of buckets from Click and Kyle McKissick (Charlton, Mass./Shepherd Hill) but a pair of treys from Demetrius Hammond (Fitchburg, Mass./Fitchburg) and Jesus Moore (Lawrence, Mass./Lawrence) kept the Falcon lead at seven (58-51) midway through the period.

Down the stretch, Fitchburg State maintained a double-digit lead, using strong shooting from Magnolima Nogueira (Taunton, Mass./Taunton) and Zach Pope (Orlando, Fla./Fisher College). Nogueira connected from long range at the 6:31 mark, while Pope added a runner in the paint at 5:09. Pope and Henneberry added consecutive three's with just under four minutes raining to give the Falcons 14 point advantage.

For the game, Fitchburg State shot 56.6% from the field (30-of-53), including 10-of-22 from three point range, while also holding a 20-15 margin on the defensive boards. The Falcons were consistent all contest, hitting on 57.7% in the first half, while shooting 15-of-27 (55.6%) in the second.

Fitchburg State (6-3, 0-0 MASCAC) will be back in action on Saturday as it hosts Bridgewater State at 3 p.m. Anna Maria College (3-7, 0-0 GNAC) will visit Mount Ida College on Saturday at 1 p.m.