Men’s Basketball Wins Midweek Matchup at Fitchburg State, 82-68

FITCHBURG, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene College men's basketball team closed out the 2023 calendar year with an 82-68 victory at Fitchburg State Wednesday evening.

THE BASICS:
Score: Eastern Nazarene 82, Fitchburg State 68
Records: Lions (4-8) | Falcons (2-8)

                               
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Eastern Nazarene chalked up 45 points in the first half while holding Fitchburg State to 23.
• The Lions gained their largest lead of the contest with 18:42 remaining as a bucket by Darrell Hardge (Hialeah, Fla.) pushed the margin to 47-23.
• Fitchburg State cut the deficit to 76-66 with 1:24 remaining in regulation on a trey by Matthew Drayton.
• Eastern Nazarene converted 6-of-8 from the charity stripe in the final minute to secure its second-straight win.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:        

• Martinie Kamga (Yaounde, Cameroon) recorded his third-consecutive double-double, netting 19 points and grabbing 13 boards.
• Kobe Jones (Picayune, Miss.) scored 13 points in the contest while Elijah Bishop (St. Louis, Mo.) poured in 12 points off the bench.
• Darrell Hardge (Hialeah, Fla.) added 10 points and Carlos Reynoso (Clifton, N.J.) posted 10 rebounds to go with seven points.
• Eastern Nazarene finished with a field-goal percentage of 52.6% while connecting on 8-of-17 from behind the arc.
• Fitchburg State shot 33.3% from the floor and was limited to a 19.2% effort from three-point range.
• Matthew Drayton poured in a game-high 26 points to lead the Falcons while Keajuan Beco chipped in with 10 points off the bench.

                                                                            
LOOKING AHEAD:
Eastern Nazarene begins 2024 with a non-conference game at New England College January 3.