Lynn, MA- For the second time this season, the Falcons fell in the last minute at the hands of the Vermont Tech Knights. With an 83-80 lead with 1:05 on the clock, the Falcons did all they could to hang on for their 7th victory of the season. But the Knights hit a key lay-up and a pair of free throws in the last minute and stole an 84-83 victory at Fecteau-Leary Gymnasium on Tuesday evening. With the win the Knights improve to 11-6, while the loss drops the Falcons to 6-8 overall.
The Knights got off to a hot start in the first half, going up by as many as 14 points, leading 23-9 with 11:58 on the scoreboard. The Falcons hung tough though, using two 6-0 runs to get back to within six points with 2:02 remaining in the first half, including back-to-back trifectas from Jason Augliera (Discovery Bay, CA) and Chris Sorapuru (Temecula, CA). VT responded with their own three-pointer from Drake Perry and would hold a 38-29 lead heading into the locker room.
Fisher tallied the first seven points of the second half to quickly get back to within two points at 38-36, capped by a Paul Oha Jr (Antioch, CA) lay-up. The Falcons took its first lead of the game after Augliera hit three straight 3's to put his team up 47-45, five minutes into the second stanza. FC maintained the lead over the next ten minutes of play, going up by as many as six points, until two Trekel Douglas baskets and a made free throw gave the Knights a 63-59 lead. VT extended its lead to five on a Dajaun Johnson three, but a 12-4 run for the Falcons put them back on top 76-73 with 4:13 left to play. The Falcons held the lead over the next three minutes, holding an 83-80 lead with 1:05 remaining. Jeremiah Shaw made it an 83-82 game just 10 seconds later forcing a Falcons timeout. The Falcons were unable to get a shot off before the 30-second clock on their next possession, giving the Knights the ball back with 14 seconds to play. A Falcons foul with seven seconds on the clock put Drake Perry on the line and he hit both ends of the one-and-one to put the Knights back on top with 6.2 seconds. The Falcons had a chance to get the win as they had a pair of shots in the last six seconds, but they could not find the bottom of the net and fell 84-83.
Augliera continued to shoot well for the Falcons, scoring 22 points, including six three-pointers while adding three rebounds and three assists. Jhalen Lumpkins (Sacramento, CA) added another 20-point performance, while Oha Jr. and Anthony Lewis (Lodi, CA) each finished in double figures with 13 and 10 points respectively. All five Knights starters tallied double figures with Dajaun Johnson leading the way with 23 points, seven assists and four steals.
The Falcons are right back at it Wednesday evening when they head to Berkeley College (NY) to take on the Knights at 8:15pm.