Fitchburg State led by 3 at the break, 31-28. The Falcons were led by outstanding outside shooting from Jim Prignano (W. Hartford, CT) who went for 13 points on 5 of 7 shooting from the field including 3-5 from behind the three point arc. Worcester State was led by Matt Savage (Worcester, MA) and Eric Rhynhart (Canaan, CT) who both finished the half with 10 points.
The difference in the game came from the free throw line in the second half as Worcester State got into the bonus early and hit 15 of 17 shots from the charity stripe. The big play came with 13 seconds remaining when Rhynhart flashed to the line and hit an off-balance jumper that gave the Lancers a three point margin forcing the Falcons into taking a tough 3-point shot to tie the game that came up short.
Worcester State had 4 players reach double figures led by Savage who had a game-high 22 points. Rhynhart and sophomore Mark Retallic (Oxford, MA) both finished in double figures in both poits and rebounds. Fitchburg was led by Prignano who's team-high 21 points is the third straight game he has scored 20 or more points. Rashad Cope (Dorchester, MA) had a big night for the Falcons on the boards. Cope finished with 11 points and 15 boards, including 11 on the offensive glass.
The Lancers will next take to the floor on Saturday when they travel to Westfield. Fitchburg will travel to Salem to take on the Vikings on Saturday.
Newspaper Box Score Fitchburg State College Men vs Worcester State College 2/3/2004 8:00pm at Worcester, MA At Worcester, MA WORCESTER STATE COLLEGE 61, FITCHBURG STATE COLLEGE MEN 58 FITCHBURG STATE COLLEGE MEN (6-11, 3-4) Jim Prignano 8-14 0-0 21; Rashad Cope 5-16 1-5 11; Matthew Costello 3-9 5-10 11; Ja'Quaine Coe 2-10 0-0 5; Patrick McCarthy 2-5 0-0 4; Dan Largesse 1-10 1-1 4; Danny Koen 1-2 0-0 2; Vladimir Benoit 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-67 7-16 58. WORCESTER STATE COLLEGE (9-11, 3-4) Matt Savage 9-19 3-5 22; Eric Rhynhart 5-11 4-6 14; Marc Retallic 4-10 3-4 11; Jason Garrett 2-10 6-9 10; Jose Otero 1-3 2-2 4; Jaime Aviles 0-1 0-0 0; Randy Fitzpatrick 0-1 0-0 0; Bart Brennan 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 21-56 18-26 61. Fitchburg State College Men... 31 27 - 58 Worcester State College....... 28 33 - 61 3-point goals-Fitchburg State College Men 7-25 (Jim Prignano 5-9; Ja'Quaine Coe 1-6; Dan Largesse 1-10), Worcester State College 1-8 (Matt Savage 1-6; Jose Otero 0-1; Randy Fitzpatrick 0-1). Fouled out--Fitchburg State College Men-None, Worcester State College-Marc Retallic. Rebounds-Fitchburg State College Men 46 (Rashad Cope 15), Worcester State College 45 (Eric Rhynhart 11; Marc Retallic 11). Assists-Fitchburg State College Men 13 (Rashad Cope 4; Ja'Quaine Coe 4), Worcester State College 6 (Jose Otero 3). Total fouls-Fitchburg State College Men 20, Worcester State College 20. A-200