Men's Basketball Opens MASCAC Play with 76-73 Setback to Framingham

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. -- The Framingham State University men's basketball team withstood a second half comeback as the host Rams held off Bridgewater State University, 76-73, on Sunday evening at the Athletic & Recreation Center.

Framingham improves to 4-10 on the season and 1-1 in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) standings. The Bears fall to 7-7 overall (0-1 MASCAC) with their fourth straight setback.

Junior forward Bertholyn Alexandre (Hyde Park, Mass.) recorded a double-double with 16 points and a game-high 13 rebounds to pace Rams.

Senior guards Wesley Ogbevoen (Boston, Mass.) and Daniel Gould (Quincy, Mass.) came off the bench to add 14 and 13 points, respectively for the hosts as the FSU reserves outscored their counterparts, 30-8.

Senior forward Greg Romanko (Mansfield, Mass.) led Bridgewater State with 17 points, five rebounds and a pair of blocked shots. Senior guard Keyon Armstrong (Brockton, Mass.) added 16 points for the Bears, while senior guard Fawaz Mass (Taunton, Mass.) and Rocky DeAndrade (Mansfield, Mass.) contributed 15 points apiece. Mass also tallied five rebounds and three assists.

Bridgewater State trailed 63-48 with eight minutes remaining in the second half. A Romanko three-pointer jumpstarted a 18-6 run over the next six minutes as the Bears closed the gap to 69-66. Armstrong tallied nine points during the spurt and capped it off with a pair of free throws with 1:55 left to play.

Following a stop, the Bears had a chance to either tie the game or cut the deficit to one but were unable to convert. The Rams went 7-for-8 from the free throw line over the final 38 seconds to close out the victory.

DeAndrade knocked down a pair of three-pointers in the final ten seconds to make things interesting, but Gould's free throws with four seconds showing put the Rams up 76-70 and sealed the win.

Framingham shot 51% (26-51) from the floor and went 17-for-26 (65%) from the charity stripe. Bridgewater connected on 43% (25-58) of its field goal attempts and converted just 15 of 25 (60%) free throws.

The Bears held an 18-11 advantage in points off turnovers as well as a slight 13-10 edge in second chance points.

The MASCAC schedule continues for both teams on Wednesday evening at 5:30. Bridgewater entertains Fitchburg State University, while Framingham travels to Westfield State University.