Junior center Nick Smith capped a three-point play with a free throw to give Fitchburg State its final lead of the night at 52-50 with 6:36 showing in the second half. The Falcons would extend their lead to 60-52 with 3:09 remaining in the contest, before UMass Boston went on an 8-2 run, led by four points from sophomore guard A.J. Titus to pull to within 62-60 at the 1:21 mark of the second stanza, but it would be as close as UMB would come as Fitchburg State held on the rest of the way.
The Beacons raced out to a 13-0 lead in the first 3:12 of the contest, fueled by five points from senior forward Charles Yuan. The Falcons regrouped and went on a 12-4 burst to cut the lead to 17-12 with 10:22 to go in the opening half as Matt Collins netted five points during the stretch. UMass Boston maintained a 24-20 margin before scoring eight straight points in a span of 1:05, led by six points from junior forward Tony Barros (Dorchester, MA), to give the Beacons a 32-20 advantage with 3:21 left to play in the first half. Fitchburg State closed the half with a 9-3 run, getting four points from Kiki Desormes and five from Mike Woods.
Collins banged a trey at the 16:43 mark of the second half to give the Falcons their first edge of the night at 41-40, before UMass Boston would pull even and later reclaim the lead at 50-47 with 7:42 on the second half clock. It would be the largest lead the Beacons would enjoy before succumbing to Fitchburg State’s comeback.
The Falcons shot just 37.7% (23-61) from the field, but knocked down 84.2% (16-19) of their tries from the free throw line. Desormes came off the bench to lead them with 14 points to go with five rebounds and an assist in 20 minutes of action, while Woods dropped in 12 points and added three assists and a steal. Collins finished the night with 10 points, a game-high five steals, four rebounds and two steals.
UMass Boston was led by Barros with 15 points in addition to six boards, two assists, a pair of steals and a game-best three blocks. Sophomore guard Amigo Paniagua netted 13 points, while grabbing seven rebounds, making three steals and blocking three shots in just 24 minutes of action. Junior guard Eric T. Bateman also contributed with 12 points, three rebounds, two assists and a steal in 21 minutes.
The Beacons will be in action again on Friday, November 25 when they host Eastern Nazarene College in the first round of the 21st Annual Harbor Invitational at 7:30 p.m., while Fitchburg State hosts Rhode Island College at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, November 29.
Release courtesy UMass-Boston Sports Information
Newspaper Box Score Fitchburg State vs UMass Boston 11/22/05 7:30pm at Boston, MA At Boston, MA FITCHBURG STATE 68, UMASS BOSTON 64 FITCHBURG STATE (2-1) Kiki Desormes 4-9 5-6 14; Mike Woods 5-12 0-0 12; Matt Collins 4-9 0-0 10; Peter Uzoma 4-12 0-0 8; Nick Smith 2-3 3-3 7; Dan Koen 1-4 2-2 5; Brian Skiffington 1-2 2-2 4; Jeff Kozik 1-1 2-2 4; Albert Ortiz 1-6 2-4 4; Andrew Vayo 0-2 0-0 0; Nate Patterson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-61 16-19 68. UMASS BOSTON (0-1) Tony Barros 5-16 3-4 15; Amigo Paniagua 6-14 0-0 13; Eric T. Bateman 5-11 2-4 12; Mark Doran 4-7 1-3 9; A.J. Titus 3-9 2-3 8; Charles Yuan 3-4 1-1 7; Kevin Senuta 0-1 0-0 0; Tommy Howe 0-2 0-0 0; Ryuto Arakaki 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-64 9-15 64. Fitchburg State............... 29 39 - 68 UMass Boston.................. 35 29 - 64 3-point goals-Fitchburg State 6-19 (Mike Woods 2-7; Matt Collins 2-7; Dan Koen 1-4; Kiki Desormes 1-1), UMass Boston 3-13 (Tony Barros 2-10; Amigo Paniagua 1-1; A.J. Titus 0-2). Fouled out--Fitchburg State-Peter Uzoma, UMass Boston-None. Rebounds-Fitchburg State 44 (Nick Smith 8; Peter Uzoma 8), UMass Boston 36 (Amigo Paniagua 7; Mark Doran 7). Assists-Fitchburg State 12 (Jeff Kozik 4), UMass Boston 16 (A.J. Titus 5). Total fouls-Fitchburg State 21, UMass Boston 17. A-125