Men's Basketball Opens Season at Framingham State

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. – Three student-athletes scored in double figures, including Marshall Kerley who had a game-high 28 points as the Framingham State University men's basketball team (2-1) defeated Wentworth Institute of Technology (0-1), 91-80, on Tuesday afternoon.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Wentworth raced out to a 6-0 lead, thanks to three pointers from Nathaniel Smith and Nathan Brinkman. After Framingham State cut the lead to 8-5 on a three from Kerly and a layup from Joshua Saint Jean, the Leopards used an 11-4 run, taking a 19-9 lead on a three from Brinkman with 12:21 left.
• The Rams chipped away at the lead, cutting it to four (19-15) after a Joshua-Daniel Okafor layup with 10:16 left. However, a three from Russell Dolabany and a free throw from Niko Rosich gave the Leopards a 23-15 lead at the midway point of the half.
• Framingham State used an 11-0 run and took a 26-23 lead with 4:27 left on two free throws from Kyle Philistin. Two from the line from Sean Racette brought the lead back to one but Saint Jean's layup with 3:54 left started a 7-3 spurt and put the hosts on top, 33-28, with 2:35 remaining. Smith made a jumper, making it 33-30 but the Rams closed the half on a 9-2 run and led, 44-32, at the break.
• After Framingham State extended its lead to 56-40 with 15:03 left on a Saint Jean layup, the Black & Gold used an 11-4 run, capped off by a Jack Connell layup, trimming the lead to 60-51 with 12:36 to play. Kerley capped off an 18-8 run with a three pointer with 7:46 left, putting the hosts ahead, 78-57.
• Wentworth clawed back into the game, using a 13-0 run to get within eight (78-70) on a Brinkman three. Philistin and Kerley each made threes, sandwiched around a Connell jumper, pushing the Framingham State lead to 84-72, with 2:00 left. The Leopards dropped the deficit to single digits one last time when Connell drained a three with 1:11 to go, however, five straight points by the Rams extended the lead.
• Philistin and Saint Jean were also in double figures for Framingham State with 17 and 16 points, respectively. Saint Jean also grabbed nine rebounds and Makyle Hayes dished out eight assists.
• Connell led the Leopards with 26 points, while Brinkman (18; 6-for-10 from behind the arc) and Dolabany (13) were also in double figures. Connell also had six assists and three steals.

ALL-TIME SERIES:

• Today was the 12th all-time meeting between the two teams.

NEXT UP:

• Wentworth hosts Wheaton on Saturday afternoon.

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