Trailblazer Men suffer road defeat at Fitchburg 65-57
The MCLA Men's basketball team suffered a tough 65-57 setback at the hands of Fitchburg State Tuesday night.
Fitchburg, MA- The Fitchburg State Falcons outscored MCLA 38-24 in the second half and held MCLA to just 27% shooting to earn a key MASCAC victory this evening 65-57. With the win, the Falcons even their MASCAC record to 5-5, 13-8 overall. The Trailblazers suffer a big setback as they fall a game behind MASCAC leader Westfield State, falling to 8-3 in conference play. MCLA is now 12-12 overall.
Kenny Suggs led the Trailblazers with 13 points while John Jones recorded his sixth straight double double finishing with 12 points and 11 rebounds for MCLA.
Fitchburg placed four players in double figures led by Tom Henneberry's game high 20 points including an impressive 4-5 from three point range. Zach Valliere filled the stat sheet with 11 points, 11 rebounds, and 7 blocks. Brandon Selby finished with 15 points, while Mike Ingram-Rubin added 10.
MCLA controlled play in a sloppy first half and led 33-27 at the break. Fitchburg quickly asserted itself in the second period. They scored the first five points of the half to get within one at 33-32. Fitchburg would knot the score on a Valliere free throw and the score would be tied on two other occasions before the Falcons took over.
With the score at 38-36 in favor of MCLA, the Falcons used a 17-2 run covering 7:30 minutes to push out to a 53-40 lead. Henneberry was the main man in the spurt scoring ten points including a pair of threes. MCLA would get within eight on three occasions, but couldn't get no closer due to poor shooting.
MCLA made only 5 field goals in the second half. Three of those field goals came in the final 2:23 of action. MCLA went 18 minutes between field goals in the second half. The Trailblazers shot a paltry 28% on the night, and just 17% in the second half. The poor shooting was also evident behind the arc as MCLA was just 2-18 from three point range.
Fitchburg shot 39% from the field, but did commit 22 turnovers to keep MCLA in the game.
MCLA will look to get back on track this Saturday when they look to avenge an early season loss to rival Bridgewater State. The game will also mark senior day for Trailblazers Vernon Cross, Bilal Shabazz, and Richard Johnson. Tip off is set for 3pm.