Men's Basketball Hold on For Win Over Fitchburg State, 71-67

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – The MCLA Men's Basketball team looked to bounce back from a close loss to Worcester State earlier this week when they welcomed Fitchburg State to the Amsler Campus Center Gymnasium for a matinee MASCAC matchup. The game was a good old fashioned rock fight, with both teams attempting to be physical and enforce their will upon the others. In the end, the Trailblazers got an 18 point and 12 rebounds double-double from Quentin Gittens, and 18 points from Jackson Brown in a 71-67 MCLA victory.

THE BASICS:

• Date: Saturday, February 1, 2025
• Score: Fitchburg 67, MCLA 71
• Records: Fitchburg State University Falcons 5-15 (MASCAC 2-5) | MCLA Trailblazers 4-15 (MASCAC 2-5)

HIGHLIGHTS

• MCLA opened the game with a 13-4 run in the first five minutes of play, capped by a layup by senior guard Quentin Gittens (Pittsfield, MA) with 5:38 expired off the clock. Fitchburg State responded with an 11-0 run to take a 15-13 lead with around 11 and a half minutes to go in the first half.
• The lead was short-lived, with junior guard Colby Burleson (Pittsboro, NC) drawing the foul on a three-point attempt at 11:07 on the clock. Burleson drained all three shots to put the Trailblazers back in front.
• MCLA held on to that lead until Jalen Jackson connected on a three-pointer with 2:55 to go in the half, putting the Falcons ahead 26-24. The teams traded baskets in the final minutes and went into the locker room with Fitchburg State up 28-26.
• A 10-5 run in the first four minutes of the second half propelled the Falcons to their largest lead of the game, 38-31. MCLA slowly chipped away at that lead until graduate student Jackson Brown (Latham, NY) cashed in a three with just over 13 minutes to play. The next seven minutes would tilt in the direction of Fitchburg, as they rebuilt a small lead to 53-47 after a made free throw by Matthew Drayton as the clock ticked down to 6:39.
• The Trailblazers again worked their way back in front, 58-57, when Gittens drove to the hoop for a layup with just under three minutes remaining. MCLA then held on, finishing the game with another layup by Gittens, putting them up 71-65 with eight seconds to play
• A final three by the Falcon's Nathaniel Semedo fell short, but Jackson was able to drop in a layup as the clock expired to make the final score 71-67.
• Fitchburg's Jackson led all scorers with 27 points, while Brown and Gittens each scored 18 for MCLA. Gittens also had a game-high 12 rebounds for his third double-double of the season. The Trailblazers' junior guard Craig Williams (Dover, DE) and the Falcons' Semedo each added 15 points to round out the double-digit scorers.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Field Goals / %: Fitchburg 25-63 / 39.7%, MCLA 23-57 / 40.4%
• 3 Points / %: Fitchburg 6-23 / 26.1%, MCLA 11-25 / 44%
• Free Throw / %: Fitchburg 11-13 / 84.6%, MCLA 14-20 / 70%
• Rebounds: Fitchburg 39, MCLA 36
• Points off Turnovers: Fitchburg 17, MCLA 15
• Second Chance Points: Fitchburg 16, MCLA 11
• Points in the Paint: Fitchburg 36, MCLA 24
• Bench Points: Fitchburg 16, MCLA 6

UP NEXT:

On Wednesday, MCLA will be back in action when it travels to Westfield State at the Woodward Center for a MASCAC matchup with the Owls. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.

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