Danbury, CT- Three Falcons scored in double figures leading the Men's Basketball team to their third win of the season, a tight 55-50 defeat of the Baruch College Bearcats. The win earned the Falcons a 1-1 split at the WCSU Colonial Classic and improves their season record to 3-2, while the Bearcats stand at 1-1.
Junior Jason Augliera (Discovery Bay, CA) led all scorers with 13 points, shooting 71% from the floor (5 for 7) while seniors Jhalen Lumpkins (Sacramento, CA) and Nicolas Gonzalez (Madrid, Spain) tallied 11 and 12 points respectively in the victory.
Each team battled for the lead in the first half as there were four lead changes early on. Baruch built up their biggest lead of the contest with 5:31 left in the first half as they led 21-14. The Falcons had the answer and finished with an 11-0 run to close out the half with a 25-21 lead heading into the break. The Falcons picked up where they left off out of the break, as they led by as many as 17, outscoring the Bearcats 18-5 over the first seven minutes of play in the second stanza. With the Falcons up 50-35 with 8:08, the Bearcats came storming back with a 13-2 run of their own, getting them to within four, forcing Coach Blouin to call a time out with 1:49 remaining and the Falcons up 52-48.
A beautifully run play out of the break put the exclamation point on the game as Kyle Williams (Fairfield, CA) fed Paul Oha Jr. (Antioch, CA) a terrific pass for the dunk and the foul with 1:35 left. Oha Jr. nailed the free throw for the 55-48 lead. The Falcons held Baruch to just one more field goal the rest of the way to hold on for the 55-50 victory.
Along with the double digit scorers for the Falcons, Williams finished with eight assists in the win, while Oha Jr. led his team in rebounds, grabbing nine. The Bearcats were led by Ryan Graziano who earned 11 points and seven rebounds in the losing effort.
The Falcons head back on the road on Tuesday when they take on the Johnson & Wales University Wildcats at 7pm. Catch all the action live by clicking here.