Lynn, MA- The Men's Basketball team had their first game back after the holiday break tonight as they took on the Vermont Tech College Knights (10-6), a team they fell to back on November 20th, 82-78. Neither team had a game since mid-December, both coming off a loss, so each team was eager to get back on the court. Despite the Falcons having the lead the majority of the game and being up by as many as 18, the Knights kept crawling their way back, and ultimately found a way to secure the 97-92 victory.
The Falcons (7-10) came out of the gate on fire scoring the games first 15 points, including eight points from Chris Sorapuru (Temecula, CA) forcing the Knights to call an early time out. Fisher did not let up over the next five minutes of the half as they went up 29-11 with at the 9:29 mark after an Abrian Dickson (Indian Wells, AZ) jump shot, giving them their biggest lead of the game. The Knights responded with a 13-2 run, including six points from the free throw line, getting them back to within seven at 31-24 with 6:13 remaining in the half. Each team exchanged baskets over the next six minutes to keep the teams close. VTC's Tyrone Hilson hit a half court shot as time expired to keep his team within five heading into the locker room with the Falcons up 48-43.
The contest remained a back and forth battle in the second half with the Falcons not relinquishing the lead. They got up by as many as six points on two occasions, but the Knights would not go away. VTC would get their first lead of the game with 7:28 remaining as Drake Perry drained a jumper to put his team up 72-71. Fisher quickly grabbed it right back as Anthony Lewis (Lodi, CA) got free under the basket for a lay-up to put his team up 76-74. The Knights tied it right back up knotting the two teams at 76, but a Knights foul would put Dickson on the line for two shots. He hit 1 of 2 putting his team up 77-76 with 5:15 remaining. But that would be the last lead for the Falcons as foul trouble was a factor down the stretch as 10 out of the last 21 Knights points were from the charity stripe, with the Knights hitting 39 of 48 free throws in the contest overall, helping to secure the 97-92 victory.
Six Falcons registered double figures in the losing effort with Sorapuru leading the way with 16 points and eight rebounds. Dickson and Mena Yacoub (Clermont, FL) each tallied 15 points of their own, while Lewis, Jhalen Lumpkins (Sacramento, CA), and Kyle Snowden (Santa Cruz, CA) combined for 31 points and 16 rebounds. The Knights were led offensively by Trekel Douglas who led all scorers with 24 points while Hilson added 20 points and eight rebounds for his team.
Fisher is right back at it tomorrow as they will head to Connecticut College to face the Camels at 7:00pm. The game can be streamed live here.