Men's Basketball Drops 87-75 MASCAC Decision to Fitchburg State

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Sophomore guard Nathaniel Semedo (Bridgewater, Mass.) and freshman guard Frederick Slayor (Worcester, Mass.) combined to score 41 points in the second half to lift the visiting Fitchburg State University men's basketball team to an 87-75 victory over Bridgewater State University in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) matchup on Saturday afternoon at the Tinsley Center.

The Falcons improve to 3-11 on the season and 1-2 in the MASCAC while the Bears fall to 3-12 overall and 1-3 in conference play.

Semedo led all players with 27 points in 28 minutes off the bench with 24 points coming in the second half. He connected on 11 of 14 field goal attempts, including 2-for-3 from behind the arc. Semedo also filled the stat sheet with seven rebounds (four offensive), two assists and game-highs of five steals and three blocked shots.

Slayor posted a double-double with 19 points and ten rebounds (three offensive) in 27 minutes off the bench. He went 8-for-9 from the floor and 2-for-3 from three-point range. Slayor scored 17 of his 19 points over the final 20 minutes.

Graduate forward Jordan Wetterlind (Twig, Minn.) paced Bridgewater State with 14 points, six rebounds, two assists and a steal, while sophomore guard Justin Parsons (Portsmouth, R.I.) tallied a career-high 13 points and sophomore forward Keyth Key (Springfield, Mass.) notched 12 points, six rebounds, five assists and a steal. Senior guard Alan Pettway (Worcester, Mass.) checked in with ten points and six assists for the Bears, and freshman guard Quinton Champagne (Wrentham, Mass.) tallied 12 points, four rebounds, two assists and three steals in 25 minutes off the bench.

With the score tied at 23-23, the Bears used a 12-2 run, capped off by a Pettway three-pointer, to open up a double-digit lead (35-25). Following a pair of Jalen Morgan (Lawrenceville, Ga.) free throws, back-to-back layups by Key and freshman guard Alex Gonzalez (Peabody, Mass.) gave the Bears their biggest lead of the game at 39-27 with 1:16 remaining. The Falcons, however, scored the final five points of the half including a traditional three-point play by junior guard Tayjahn Joyner (Hadley, Mass.) with five seconds showing on the scoreboard to make it a seven-point game (39-32) at the break.

Bridgewater shot 48% (15-31) in the opening stanza and converted 4 of 8 (50%) from three-point range. The Bears struggled at the free throw line going 5-for-11 (46%) from the stripe. Parsons led all players with 11 points over the first 20 minutes. The Falcons connected on 42% (10-24) of their first-half field goal attempts and went 3-for-8 (38%) from behind the arc and 9-for-11 (82%) at the line.

Fitchburg dominated the first 8 ½ minutes of the second half, outscoring the Bears by a margin of 33-7 to open up a 65-46 lead. Semedo and Slayer accounted for 30 of the 33 points during the game-changing run. The Falcons maintained a double-digit advantage throughout the rest of the contest. Trailing by 18 (77-59) with 6:43 left to play, Bridgewater used a 10-2 run propelled by six points from Champagne to cut the deficit to ten (79-69) with 3:21 showing on the scoreboard. The Bears, however, were unable to get any closer.

The Falcons were lights out in the second half shooting 78% (21-27) from the floor including 4-for-5 (80%) from three-point land. The Bears shot 41% (29-65) over the last 20 minutes.

The two teams combined for 36 turnovers in the game (18 apiece) with the Falcons holding a 27-18 edge in points off turnovers. The Bears held a 35-31 rebounding advantage with a 19-10 difference on the offensive glass. The Fitchburg bench, thanks in large part to Semedo and Slayor, outscored the BSU reserves by a healthy margin of 66-20.

In upcoming action, the Bears travel to MCLA on Wednesday night for a 7:30 MASCAC game with the Trailblazers. The Falcons head to MCLA on Monday evening to take on the Trailblazers also at 7:30.