Worcester State Fends Off Fitchburg State, 90-80

Fitchburg, MA --- Junior Maurice Horton nearly missed a double-double with a game-high 26 points and nine rebounds as Worcester State defeated local rival Fitchburg State, 90-80, to improve to 3-1 in the MASCAC.

January 20, 2009

Worcester State 90, Fitchburg State 80

Fitchburg, MA --- Junior Maurice Horton (Detroit, MI) nearly missed a double-double with a game-high 26 points and nine rebounds as Worcester State defeated local rival Fitchburg State, 90-80, to improve to 3-1 in the MASCAC.

With the win the Lancers improve to 9-7 overall while the Falcons drop to 5-8 and 0-3 in conference play.

Horton led the way shooting 7-of-11 from the field while junior Brandon Fortes (Pawtucket, RI) netted 20 points as he was a perfect 12-for-12. Classmate Elijah Sims (Worcester, MA) tallied 16 points with four rebounds while junior Patrick Hamilton (Templeton, MA) also shipped in with 13 points.

Senior Brian Skiffington (North Adams, MA) led the Falcons attack on 5-of-10 shooting from the field with a team-best 19 points, including 4-of-7 from three point range and 5-of-6 from the charity stripe. Junior Tim Graham (Arlington, MA) was also solid for Fitchburg State with 15 points a three rebounds, while senior Brian Torres (North Dighton, MA), classmate Jeff Kozik (Auburn, MA) and junior Jonathan Evans (Shrewsbury, MA) each tallied 12 points.

The affair started off as a back and forth game with 13 lead exchanges, but Fitchburg State gained a slim two points advantage at the break for intermission (45-43).

The Falcons grabbed a nine point lead (36-27) with 5:41 remaining in the period as Skiffington capped a 15-6 run with two consecutive free-throws, but Worcester State rallied back, posting a 16-9 scoring surge to close out the half.

Worcester State opened the second half with an 11-4 run to grab a 59-51 advantage with 11:45 remaining in regulation. Fitchburg State brought the contest to a 66-66 deadlock moments later as Torres and Skiffington connected for three consecutive three-pointers at the 5:29 mark, but the Lancers closed the period strong, hitting their final 20-of-21 free-throws to secure the victory.

Fitchburg State will be in action again on Thursday as it travels to Salem State College at 8 p.m. Worcester State will travel to Bridgewater State on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.

Release Courtesy of Fitchburg State Sports Information