Men's Basketball Downs Fitchburg State 86-63

FITCHBURG, Mass. (December 12, 2009) - The Becker College men's basketball team shot 55.0% from the field behind a 27 point effort from Rajai Leggett (New Haven, Conn./New Haven) as the Hawks topped Fitchburg State, 86-63 in non-conference action this afternoon.

The Hawks took a 20 point lead into halftime (47-27) and shot 21-of-36 from the field (.583) in the first half to cruise to their third victory of the season. Led by Leggett's 15, first half points, Becker notched a clutch 19-8 run midway through the frame, turning a tight 20-14 contest into a commanding 17 point lead (39-22). The Hawks capitalized on Fitchburg State's 28.6% shooting in the opening period (10-of-35), posting 11 points off turnovers and 32 points in the paint.

Leggett led all first half scores with 15 points, hitting 6-of-10 from the field and 3-of-4 from the free-throw line. The Falcons received a solid effort from sophomore Stephen Verdi (Revere, Mass./Malden) who tallied a team-best eight points off the bench, while senior Colin London (Worcester, Mass./Doherty) added eight points and two boards.

In the second, Becker maintained its comfortable lead as Leggett (12) and junior Matt Petrides (Belchertown, Mass./Belchertown) (11) paced the Hawks. The duo combined for 23 of the Hawks 39 second half points, shooting a combined 50.0% (8-of-16) from the field, including 2-of-4 from long range. The Falcons started the period off strong with a quick 5-2 run on five points by senior Jonathan Evans (Shrewsbury, Mass./Shrewsbury), but Becker answered each Fitchburg State basket, posting its largest lead of the contest (27) at the 5:00 mark.

 Becker's Leggett lead all scorers, posting a double-double with a game-high 27 points and 13 boards, while Petrides was one board shy of his own with 16 points and nine caroms. Evans led the Fitchburg State offense with a team-best 13 points and four boards, while London and Verdi ended the contest with eight.

Fitchburg State (3-6, 0-0 MASCAC) is off until after the winter break when the Falcons travel to WPI on January 2nd. Becker (3-5, 0-0 NECC) will be in action on December 29th as it participates in the Salem State Holiday Classic.