Fitchburg State Upends WPI, 58-57

Bell registers season-best 32 points in Falcons non-conference victory

WORCESTER, Mass. – Senior Kwame Lee drained two free throws with 6.5 seconds remaining to put Fitchburg State ahead for good as the visiting Falcons rallied from a 16-point second deficit to stun nationally-ranked WPI 57-56 in a non-conference men's basketball matchup played Saturday afternoon.

Fitchburg State, who was playing its fifth NEWMAC opponents so far this season, snaps a three-game skid and moves to 4-5 on the season. WPI, ranked 13th in the most recent D3hoops.com Top 25, falls for the first time in eight outings in 2015-16, and was denied its fourth 8-0 start in the last 12 years.

The Falcons saw themselves down 40-24 just over three minutes into the second half before Lee rattled off five straight points to return order to the game. WPI led by nine at 41-52 with six minutes only to see Fitchburg State junior Jaleel Bell (erupt for seven straight point over a span of 1:26 to slice the Engineer advantage to two at 51-49 with 4:10 to go. 

The hosts appeared in good shape when Sean Doncaster connected on a 3-pointer with 1:44 left to put the Boynton Hillers up five (56-51) Bell drained a pair of free throws with 1:31 to go and then hit a layup with 47.3 seconds remaining. A WPI turnover and then Lee's freebies put the guests ahead and Josh Bosworth sealed the comeback win with a steal just before the final buzzer.

Leading 18-15 just past the midway point of the opening stanza, the Engineers embarked upon 14-3 run to up the lead to 32-18 with 3:24 to go before intermission. WPI enjoyed the double-digit advantage the rest of half. 

Five different Crimson and Gray players notched baskets during the spurt, which featured five points by Clyde Niba and was capped by a 3-pointer Connor Willgress as the hosts led 34-22 at the break.

Bell turned in an outstanding offensive performance, collected a season-best 32 points, including a perfect 14-of-14 from the free throw line. Lee added 14 points while Givaughn Jones stuffed the stat sheet with eight points, seven rebounds, four steals and an assist. 

The trio of Bell, Lee and Jones accounted for 54 of the Falcons 57 points on the day. Bosworth amassed three assists to go along with three points, three steals and four boards.

Clyde Niba poured in a team-best 23 points for WPI, including five 3-pointers.  The senior also corralled seven rebounds. Doncaster ended with 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the floor and four assists while Obi Obiora accounted for seven points and five boards and Aaron Tood and Ian Converse accounted for eight and five rebounds respectively.  Point guard Aaron Davis led players with five assists on the day.

Fitchburg State turned 19 WPI turnovers into 21 points while only committing 10 miscues themselves. The Falcons also did a good job getting to the line, attempting 28 free throws while the Engineers were only able to muster six attempts from the charity stripe.

WPI, who was wrapping up a six-game homestand, now won't play a game in the friendly confines of Harrington Auditorium until January 9th. The Engineers begins a four-game road trip Wednesday, traveling to North Adams for a 7:30pm contest at MCLA. Fitchburg State plays its second straight road game against a perennial NCAA Tournament participant on Monday at 7pm against Albertus Magnus. 

Release courtesy of the WPI SID office

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