Published in The Beacon on February 28, 2020.
Chris Becker ‘23 scored with just two seconds left on the clock to cement an 80-78 comeback victory for the men’s basketball team in the first round of the MASCAC tournament Tuesday.
There will be a Fan Bus run by the athletic department, taking students to their next game at Worcester State University Lancers tonight at 6 p.m. An email was sent out detailing the bus’s departure from across the fire lane by the townhouses at 3:30 p.m. Signups for the bus require students to send an email to dawn.lesure@mcla.edu.
Becker took a pass from Ki-Shawn Monroe and drove to the hoop for a layup. The ball hung on the rim for an agonizing second before dropping through the net.
“I just wish for the president’s cardiac condition that they’d win a little bit earlier in the game, not letting the last point trickle in,” President James Birge joked following the game.
Tuesday’s win advances the Trailblazers to the semifinal round.
The first half saw both teams exchanging points for a relatively evenly matched game. Heading into the half, the Trailblazers were down two points with the score at 38-40.
The second half saw the Falcons initially pull away with the lead. Throughout the first six minutes, Fitchburg went on a 14-2 run. With the score at 56-42, MCLA began to chip away at the lead.
With 11:34 remaining on the clock Bright Afful ‘21 stole a pass from Falcons forward Charles Doss ‘20. He dunked, electrifying the crowd. With 9:24 remaining, Noah Yearsley ‘21 brought the Trailblazers to within two points with a 3-pointer .
As the clock approached 4:23 remaining, Yearsley assisted Becker on a layup and was fouled, and hit the free throw to complete the and-1 and tie the game at 71.
The teams traded baskets with the score fluctuating for the next couple minutes until Yearsley tied the game again on a free throw made with 41 seconds remaining. After a defensive stop with about 23 seconds left, the Trailblazers worked the ball around until Monroe found Becker for the game winner.
A desperate heave from 35 feet by Falcons guard Nicholas Tracy ‘20 fell short as the clock expired.
“I thought we showed a lot of character being able to come back and pull this one out, it was great execution down the stretch,” said Head Coach Derek Shell following the game.
The Trailblazers were led in scoring by Yearsley who contributed 23 points. Afful had a double-double with 10 rebounds and 13 points.
The Falcons were led by Tracy with 26 points and 8 rebounds, with Jordan Jones ‘20 chipping in with 25 points and 8 rebounds. The Falcons end their season at 9-17.
While the team is enjoying their win tonight, Shell recognizes that the Lancers will not be easy.
“Worcester’s just an incredibly gifted offensive team. They have four guys on the floor who can shoot it, they got a really good big – they’re tough. We got them the first time around in overtime at their place and they beat us last time they were here. We’re very familiar with each other, it should be a tough one.”
