Fitchburg State Rallies Past Framingham State, 78-69 (OT)

Bell and Hill lead Falcons to key MASCAC victory

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. – The Fitchburg State men's basketball team defeated the Rams of Framingham State University, 78-69 in overtime in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action this evening at the Athletic and Recreation Center.

Both team traded baskets to open the contest before Framingham State went on a 9-0 run on three balls from sophomore Manny Payton, freshman Tyri Hampton and senior Daniel Gould to take a 21-11 lead midway through the first half.

Fitchburg State cut the deficit to five (21-16) as senior Jaleel Bell connected on a pair of free-throws and a trey before the Rams answered back with three pointers by senior Patrick Gould and classmate Wesley Ogbevoen to make the score 41-31 in favor of the Rams going into the break.

Following the intermission, Framingham State extended it margin (49-33) on a pair of jumpers from Ogbevoen and a put back layup by junior Tony Alexandre. The Falcons battled back, going on a 13-2 stretch with Bell leading the way with six points, while senior Jalen Williams and junior Josh Bosworth added three points each to cut the lead to 51-46.

The Green and Gold eventually knotted the score (57-57) with just over six and half minutes to go in second half on a pair of free-throws from Bosworth. The Green and Gold proceeded to take a 63-57 advantage following a pair of layups by Williams and a Bell layup but back-to-back layup from Ogbevoen tied the game back up at 65-65 to for overtime.

In the overtime, Fitchburg State secured the win, going on an 8-2 run on baskets by Bosworth and sophomore Nicholas Tracy and two free-throws each from senior Lance Hill and Bell, resulting in the 78-69 final.

Fitchburg State was led by Bell with a game-best 21 points, ten rebounds, two assists and two steals, while Hill added 18 points, three boards, one steal and one block. Williams and Tracy were also solid for the Falcons with 17 and ten points respectively.

For Framingham State, Ogbevoen registered a game-leading 21 points, nine caroms, four assists and one steal, while Alexandre finished with a double-double of 18 points and 18 boards as well as one block.

Fitchburg State (9-8, 4-2 MASCAC) returns to action on Saturday as it hosts the Owls of Westfield State for a contest starting at 1 p.m. Framingham State (6-13, 3-3 MASCAC) will travel to Salem State to take on the Vikings at 1 p.m.

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