Dominant Second Half Propels Fitchburg State Past MCLA, 78-61

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. - The Fitchburg State Men's basketball team went on a 21-0 run midway through the second half as the Falcons clamped down on the MCLA Trailblazers and cruised to a 78-61 MASCAC win tonight in North Adams.  With the win, the Falcons move to 3-1 in the MASCAC and are 10-7 overall.  The Trailblazers drop their fifth straight MASCAC tilt in falling to 0-5 in the league and 4-12 on the season.

The Falcons trailed by seven early in the second half when MCLA's Khalil Paul made a jumper on the opening possession making the score 34-27 in favor of the Trailblazers.  The Falcons would assert themselves quickly though, using an 8-0 spurt to grab the lead at 35-34 on a pair of Leonny Burgos free throws.

Fitchburg would quickly go up five points (41-36), but MCLA would battle back and eventually tie the game on two separate occasions, the last of which was at 48-48 on a Joe Wiggins layup.  That basket set the stage for the Falcons pivotal surge.

With 11:11 to play, FSU's Lance Hill started the run with a triple from the left wing.  After a stop, Anthony Muccioli would connect from deep and then Hill would convert another three as the shot clock expired making it 57-48 with still 9:24 to play.  The spurt would continue as MCLA struggled with the Falcon pressure and when Burgos connected another free throw with just 4:39 remaining, it was 69-48 in favor of Fitchburg.  During the spurt, the Trailblazers went 0-10 from the floor and committed five turnovers.Fitchburg wasn't challenged the rest of the way as the lead grew to as many as 22 points.

The first half saw four lead changes and five ties.  MCLA recovered from a slow start to take its first lead at 11-10 on a jumper from Joe Wiggins with 9:34 left til halftime.  Fitchburg regained the lead when Givaughn Jones scored three straight points putting the Falcons in front 21-18 with just over five minutes left.  MCLA would go on a 9-2 spurt to lead 27-23 and they would eventually settle on a 32-27 halftime edge in favor in the home team.  Dakari Hannah Wornum controlled the glass in the opening half for MCLA notching 11 first half rebounds.

Fitchburg placed four players in double figures led by Burgos' 15 points.  He was 5-6 from the floor and added 4 steals to his stat line.  Jaleel Bell added 14 points and 4 swipes, while Givaughn Jones had a great floor game collecting 14 points, 6 rebounds, 4 steals, and 3 assists.  The Falcons defense notched 20 steals and forced MCLA into a season high 27 turnovers.

The Trailblazers received a game best 23 point effort from Joe Wiggins.  He was 8-16 from the floor and also ended with 4 steals.  Khalil Paul ended with 13 points.  Anderson Dalmace came off the bench and amassed 8 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists.  MCLA shot just 26% from the floor in the second half and 33% for the game.

The Falcons rebounded from a poor first half shooting display (29%) and shot a solid 48% in the closing half.  MCLA did own a slim 51-45 rebounding advantage paced by Dakari Hannah Wornum's game best 18 rebounds.

The Trailblazers return to non league play on Saturday when they travel to Fisher on Saturday.  The Falcons visit Salem State on Saturday in MASCAC action. (Release courtesy of MCLA Sports Information)