Tuesday, December 4, 2012 (Newton, Massachusetts) - After trailing for the bulk of the second half, the Mount Ida College men's basketball team caught visiting non-conference foe Fitchburg State University with 3:11 remaining in the contest knotting the score at 74-74. But the Falcons outscored the Mustangs 9-4 through the final stretch handing the hosts an 86-80 loss Tuesday evening in the back end of a double header with the women's team at Mount Ida Athletic Center.
The hosts were called for 24 total fouls in the contest sending Fitchburg State to the charity stripe 28 times (23-28) while the Mustangs only visited the line for 14 attempts (10-14). Although the visitors were much taller underneath the basket, the Mount Ida managed to keep pace in the rebounding game pulling down 46 to the Falcons 48 boards.
The hosts drop their second straight loss falling to an overall record of 3-4, 0-1 in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) with a big league match-up coming Thursday against hosting Albertus Magnus College in New Haven, Connecticut with game time slated for 7:00 p.m. Fitchburg State improves to 4-2 for the 2012 season and will host WPI this Saturday afternoon with tip-off coming at 3:00 p.m.
After Mount Ida took the lead in the opening ticks, the Falcons jumped ahead 16-10 in the early stages of the first stanza (14:11) capped on a three point play the hard way by senior center Zach Valliere (Douglas, MA/Douglas). Valliere led the game with 22 points, 17 rebounds and five blocks on 9-19 shooting.
The visiting advantage inflated to a half high 12 points around the 11 minute mark following a good trifecta from Falcon junior guard Zach Pope (Orlando, FL/Fisher College) leading 28-16.
The Mustangs chipped away and powered through their slow start to take their second lead of the game up one (34-33) finalized on a successful lay-in by senior center and captain Jeffrey McNair (Brockton, MA/Brockton). McNair added his fifth double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 boards also adding three blocks.
No more than a basket separated the squads for the rest of the first half with the score knotting four times through the final seven and a half minutes heading into halftime with Fitchburg clutching a small 47-44 edge.
Starting the second half, Mount Ida would spring ahead by three points (53-50) early in the final stanza (17:53) after a converted lay-in by freshman guard/forward Cameron Walker (New Bedford, MA/New Bedford).
Fitchburg countered with a 10-0 run through the next four minutes of play regaining the lead up 60-53 after a good lay-up by junior guard Kurt Steiner (Rutland, VT/Whitinsville).
The visitors maintained the arms-length advantage going ahead by a half-high eight points up 68-60 with 8:19 remaining in the contest finalized on a successful lay-in by Valliere.
Mount Ida slowly crept back into contention and would eventually catch the Falcons, tying the game (74-74) for the seventh time on the night, capped on a trifecta by sophomore guard Aaron Kelly (Norwalk, CT/Norwalk).
This was the last time the game would be knotted with the Mustangs only able to cut within a point, twice during the final three minutes, ultimately handing an 86-80 loss to the hosts. Fitchburg State drained 9-10 free throws in the final ticks of the game to solidify the victory.
Along with a solid performance from McNair, Mount Ida men's basketball was led offensively by freshman guard John Fortes (New Bedford, MA/New Bedford) with 21 points on 9-17 shooting. Walker added 15 points and five dishes on 6-14 shooting while Kelly notched 13 points going 3-8 from downtown.
Following an overpowering performance from Valliere, Falcon senior forward Tom Henneberry (Lexington, MA/Lexington) recorded 14 points, nine caroms and two blocks to aid in the win for the visitors.
