Men’s Basketball Continues to Roll, Stifling Fitchburg State 67-52

FITCHBURG, Mass. – The MCLA Men's Basketball team continued a run of conference play this afternoon when they traveled to Fitchburg State for a MASCAC matchup at the Fitchburg State Recreation Center. Quentin Gittens set the standard with 33 points and 13 rebounds for the Trailblazers. MCLA extended their win streak to four games by a score of 67 to 52.

THE BASICS:

• Date: Saturday, January 27, 2024
• Score: MCLA 82, Fitchburg State 60
• Records: MCLA Trailblazers 11-8 (MASCAC 5-2) | Fitchburg State Falcons 3-17 (MASCAC 1-6)

HIGHLIGHTS

• MCLA used a 10-2 run to close out the first half to swing the game's momentum in their favor and went to the locker rooms at the half trailing by one point, at 26-25.
• The momentum became a tsunami in the Trailblazers' favor after the intermission. The teams traded blows early in the second half, with Fitchburg's Javon Taylor hitting a three less than 30 seconds into the frame, only for JoJo Garcia to match him seconds later. And so it would go until a Josh Jean Charles layup put the Falcons ahead 33-30 with just over 13 and a half minutes remaining. It would be Fitchburg's final lead of the game.
• Quentin Gittens made the most of an and-one to tie the game at 33 all and started what would eventually become a 19-3 run by MCLA over the next six minutes to pull away from the Falcons. The visitors' lead would grow to as much as 18 points with 4:16 to play and would never fall below 15 points for the remainder of the game.
• Gittens finished the game with a career-high 33 points, topping his previous career-high of 30 set only three weeks ago at Westfield State. It also marks the fifth time in his last six games that Gittens has scored at least 25 points and is the tenth time in 11 games that he has crossed the double digits barrier. Gittens' 10 of 13 performances at the free-throw line in the second half helped to spark the Trailblazers' run in the final frame. With 13 rebounds to go with the 33 points, this was Gittens' sixth double-double of the year.
• Hayden Morris-Gray scored 10 of his 12 points in the second half behind a 4-6 showing from the field.
• The Falcons were led by a pair of double-digit scorers in Taylor and Frederick Siayor, who scored 11 and 10 points, respectively. Taylor also finished with a team-high eight rebounds, with Siayor again one behind Taylor, pulling down seven boards.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Field Goals / %: MCLA 23-58 / 39.7%, Fitchburg 19-58 / 32.8%
• 3 Points / %: MCLA 6-28 / 21.4%, Fitchburg 6-16 / 37.5%
• Free Throw / %: MCLA 15-19 / 78.9%, Fitchburg 8-14 / 57.1%
• Rebounds: MCLA 39, Fitchburg 38
• Points off Turnovers: MCLA 17, Fitchburg 4
• Second Chance Points: MCLA 9, Fitchburg 8
• Points in the Paint: MCLA 26, Fitchburg 22
• Bench Points: MCLA 17, Fitchburg 19

UP NEXT:

On Wednesday, MCLA will be back in action when they host Westfield State for a MASCAC matchup with the Owls at the Amsler Campus Center Gymnasium. The teams will take the floor for a 7 p.m. tip-off.

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