Men's Basketball Falls to Framingham State in MASCAC Opener, 70-65

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. – The Framingham State University men's basketball team opened Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) play with a 70-65 victory over visiting Bridgewater State University on Wednesday evening at Logan Gymnasium.

The Rams improve to 4-10 (1-0 MASCAC) on the season, while the Bears fall to 10-3 (0-1 MASCAC).

Senior guard Marshall Martin (Dorchester, Mass.) paced Framingham State with a game-high 20 points to go along with eight rebounds, three assists and a steal. Graduate forward Juran Ligonde (Dedham, Mass.) recorded a double-double for the Rams with 18 points and a game-high ten rebounds (three offensive), while Joshua Daniel-Okafor notched 12 points and five boards.

Junior guard Justin Parsons (Portsmouth, R.I.) scored a team-high 15 points and collected three rebounds for Bridgewater State, while freshman guard Dante Kikuba (Framingham, Mass.) checked in with 12 points, four rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals. The Bears also received nine points and eight boards from graduate center Emerson Halbleib (Carmel, Ind.) as well as nine points and eight rebounds from sophomore guard Alex Gonzalez (Peabody, Mass.). Sophomore forward Keyth Key (Springfield, Mass.) came off the bench to add eight points, two rebounds, three assists and three steals in 18 minutes for the visitors.

Framingham held a 45-32 advantage after 20 minutes of play with Ligonde leading all scorers with 14 first-half points. The Rams got up by as many as 18 points in the opening stanza including a 38-20 lead with five minutes remaining in the period. The Bears used a 12-5 run, highlighted by a pair of three-pointers from Gonzalez and Kikuba, to pull to within 11 (43-32) before Ligonde knocked down a pair of free throws to close out the first-half scoring.

The Rams shot 44.1% (15-34) from the floor in the first half, including 5-for-13 (38.5%) from behind the arc, and connected on 10 of 14 (76.9%) free throw attempts. The Bears shot just 36.1% (13-36) over the first 20 minutes and went 3-for-18 (16.7%) from three-point range and 3-for-6 (50%) at the stripe.

Bridgewater scored the first four points of the second half on layups by Gonzalez and Halbleib to pull to within nine (45-36). Framingham answered with an 8-2 run capped off by a Marshall jumper to pull ahead, 53-38. The Bears then held the Rams scoreless for more than seven minutes and used a 16-0 run to take their first lead of the game, 54-53. Junior forward Peyton Priest (Papillion, Neb.) capped off the spurt with back-to-back three-pointers.

The Bears, however, were unable to maintain the momentum, as they converted just three of their final 19 field goal attempts. Highlighted by nine points from Martin and capped off by a Thompson trifecta, the Rams used a 16-5 run to make it a ten-point game (69-59) with just under two minutes left to play. Bridgewater closed to within five (70-65) on a pair of Kikuba free throws with 34 seconds remaining but were unable to convert on a pair of three-point attempts in the closing seconds.

Framingham shot 39.7% (23-58) for the game, 27.3% (6-22) from behind the arc and 58.1% (18-31) at the free throw line. Bridgewater finished with shooting percentages of 31.2% (24-77) from the floor, 18.9% (7-37) from three-point range and 52.6% (10-19) at the charity stripe.

The Bears held the edge in points off turnovers (23-11), second chance points (12-8), points in the paint (32-20) and bench points (17-7).

The MASCAC schedule continues for both teams on Saturday at noon. The Bears entertain the Vikings of Salem State University, while the Rams travel to Westfield State University to take on the Owls.