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Fitchburg High

Local roundup: Falcons fend off Vikings

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The Fitchburg State fended off a late surge by visiting Salem State Wednesday night, holding on for a 65-55 victory in MASCAC play.

Salem State jumped out to a 6-2 lead before the Falcons got on track with four points from Tyrone Manderson and back-to-back jumpers from Frederick Siayor to hold a 13-10 advantage.

Knotted at 21, Tajahn Joyner had a steal and a layup to push the Falcons ahead before the teams traded baskets at the end of the half to even the score at 25 at halftime.

A jumper and a layup from Conner Byrne gave the Vikings a 33-31 advantage in the third, but the Falcons soared to a 39-37 advantage with a bucket in the paint from Javon Taylor. Knotted at 41, Byrne scored five straight to push the Viking to a 46-41 lead midway through the frame.

The Falcons countered with a 13-0 run, including a three-point play from Javon Taylor and five points from Siayor to take the lead for good.

A jumper from Jarret Byrne and a trey from Juvens Louiscut the Salem State deficit to 54-51 with three minutes to play, but Matthew Tanis and Siayor hit crucial free throws down the stretch to seal the victory.

Siayor paced the Falcons with 15 points, four rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks, while Quincy Taylor added 13 points and nine rebounds.

Fitchburg State (9-12, 4-5 MASCAC) returns to action Saturday, traveling to Worcester State for a MASCAC contest at noon.

Women’s basketball

Salem State 71, Fitchburg State 47: Stephanie Hart had eight points and 17 rebounds to lead the Falcons (3-19, 1-8 MASCAC). Kathryn Hart added eight points off the bench and Aliza Som had seven in defeat.

Boys basketball

Tewksbury 66, North Middlesex 51: Brian Morse and Jack Callahan each had 15 points in defeat, while Mike Reardon chipped in with 10 for the Patriots.

Worcester Tech 55, St. Bernard’s 35: The loss drops the Bernardians to 8-7.

Monty Tech 71, South Lancaster 29: Jaden Jones scored a game-high 17 points as the Bulldogs improved to 10-6.

High school hockey

North Middlesex 3, Wachusett 1: Jimmy O’Keefe (two assists), Max Calliri and Sean Myers scored for the Patriots (8-8-0), while Aaron Scarelli stopped 27 shots to earn the win. Tyler Cunio and Gavin Petrucci picked up helpers in the victory.

Fitchburg/Monty Tech 6, Oakmont 5: The Red Raiders (9-6-0) prevailed in overtime, while the Spartans fell to 3-12-0.

Local roundup: Spartans cruise past Red Raiders

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The Oakmont Regional girls basketball team powered past host Fitchburg High for a 62-21 victory at the Doug Grutchfield Field House on Monday evening.

Oakmont (8-6) was paced by Amaiya LeBlanc, who scored a game-high 14 points. Victoria Mays added 12 points for the Spartans, who head to Townsend Tuesday night to square off with North Middlesex Regional.

Fitchburg's Gianexis Santiago fires a shot over Oakmont Regional's Kyra Pappas during Monday's game. (Sentinel & Enterprise / Gary Fournier)
Fitchburg’s Gianexis Santiago fires a shot over Oakmont Regional’s Kyra Pappas during Monday’s game. (Sentinel & Enterprise / Gary Fournier)

Gianexis Santiago led Fitchburg (1-16) with 11 points. The Red Raiders return to action Friday night, hosting rival Leominster High.

Nashoba 65, Shrewsbury 32: Emily Quinn erupted for 30 points as the Wolves moved to 12-3.

Boys basketball

Leominster 73, St. Paul 54: Justin Dadah Jr. poured in 20 points to lead four Leominster players in double figures as the Blue Devils improved to 8-5. Terrance McCormack added 17, Chase Hause had 16 and Dylan Carr scored 11 in the victory.

St. Bernard’s 63, Abby Kelley 37: The win lifts the Bernardians to 8-6.

Nashoba 76, Shrewsbury 46: The Wolves move to 12-2 with the victory.

Boys hockey

North Middlesex 8, Leominster 0: The win lifts the Patriots to 7-8, while the Blue Devils fall to 0-14.

Men’s basketball

Mitchell 85, Fitchburg State 66: The Falcons dropped to 8-12 (3-5 MASCAC) with the non-conference loss.

Mitchell opened the contest with a 5-2 edge as senior Mikey Buscetto hit a 3-pointer before Fitchburg State answered back with a 3 from senior Mikal Garcia and a Tajahn Joyner layup for a 9-5 lead.

The Falcons extended the lead to 15-9 on buckets by seniors Dayne Allen and Quincy Taylor, but the Mariners trimmed the deficit to 18-17 with senior Jalen Benson and freshman Bishop Taylor notching buckets.

The hosts battled back to knot the score at 24 following a pair of free throws by senior Alfonzo Stokes before the Green and Gold got a layup from Allen for a 24-22 edge.

Michell closed out the half on an 8-2 run for the 40-32 advantage going into halftime.

Following the intermission, Mitchell upped the advantage to 44-34 as senior Ahmani Browne, but Fitchburg State proceeded to go on a 9-3 run with Garcia, Taylor and freshman Tyrone Manderson hitting baskets to reduce the lead to 49-43.

Trailing 53-45, the Falcons got free-throws from Allen and sophomore Matthew Tanis to cut the lead to 55-48 before the Mariners pushed the margin to 70-53 with Benson draining a 3-pointer.

The Green and Gold answered back when junior Jaylen Swan  netted a layup and Manderson sank two from the charity stripe, but the hosts secured the victory with newcomer Adam Gardner registering a basket.

The Falcons were paced by Taylor’s team-best 14 points and six rebounds, while Allen added a double-double of 12 points and 10 boards.

Local roundup: Falcons rally, but fall in OT

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It seemed like the goals weren’t going to come for Fitchburg State.

And for two periods Thursday night, Salem State held the visiting Falcons off the scoreboard.

But after the guests netted a pair of goals in the final 20 minutes and forced overtime, the well ran dry and the host Vikings were able to sink the Falcons in overtime, earning a 3-2 MASCAC victory.

Keagan O’Donoghue netted the winner 1:24 into OT.

Trailing 1-0 entering the third, Antoine Gignac pulled the Falcons even just 10 seconds into the third, scoring off a Joshua Miller assist. And 6:56 later, Cole Archambault put the guests ahead, with assists going to Brendan Walk and Michael Macchioni.

Salem State’s Erik Larsson opened the scoring six minutes into the game and then netted the equalizer for the Vikings with 1:48 left in regulation to force overtime.

Max Macchioni turned aside 42 shots for the Falcons (8-9-3, 6-5-3 MASCAC).

Women’s track and field

The Distance Medley relay team of seniors Abigail Murphy, Lilah McAndrew, Maria Burnett and freshman Skye Goba placed 1oth overall with a time of 13:17.23 at the  All-New England Championships.

With that time, the Falcons ran the fourth fastest time his school history with Goba running the mile, Murphy in the 1,200 meter leg, Burnett the 800 meter and McAndrew handling the 400 meter leg.

Girls basketball

Algonquin 52, Fitchburg 17: Ella Kitching posted six points for the Red Raiders (1-14) and Gianna Calderon added five.

Local roundup: Falcons pile up MASCAC honors

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Good news rolled into the Fitchburg State athletic offices on Tuesday and did so in bulk.

Four Fitchburg State track and field athletes earned weekly conference honors and 124 Falcon student-athletes were named to the MASCAC Fall/Winter All-Academic team.

Junior Taban Manyok was named MASCAC Men’s Indoor Track Athlete of the Week, while senior Eric Shimiyimana was selected as the Field Athlete of the Week and freshman Liam Bourassa was tabbed Rookie of the Week. In addition, Fitchburg State junior Makany Camara was named MASCAC Women’s Indoor Field Athlete of the Week.

Manyok collects his third consecutive weekly accolade after taking top honors in the 1,000 meter with a personal best and DIII New England qualifying time of 2:37.89 as well as finishing second in the mile with a time of 4:36.45 for the Green and Gold at the Wesleyan Indoor Invite on Saturday.

Shimiyimana picks up his fourth weekly honor of the season after placing second overall in the triple jump with a DIII New England qualifying mark of 13.45, while adding a third-place effort of 6.15 meters in the long jump. The fourth-year Falcon capped the day by finishing seventh in the 60 with a time of 7.64 seconds.

Bourassa earned his first weekly accolade after taking top honors in the shot put with a toss of 13.01 meters, while adding a seventh- place toss of 10.98 meters in the weight throw at the Wesleyan Indoor Invite.

Camara nets her second weekly honor on the year after finishing second in the high jump with a mark of 1.52 meters for the Green and Gold on Saturday.

The Fitchburg State indoor track teams return to action Saturday as they compete at the 2023 Panthers Invite at Plymouth State University.

In addition to showing off its athletic abilities, Fitchburg State saw its student-athletes excel in the classroom, with Falcons representing 124 of the 1,218 MASCAC academic honorees. To land a spot on the MASCAC All-Academic team, student-athletes must have achieved a 3.20 cumulative or semester-based grade point average during the Fall/Winter semester.

The Fitchburg State athletes named to the All-Academic team are below.

Men’s basketball: Aidan Finn, Clifford Fuakye, Dayne Allen, Frederick Siayor, Jordan Polanco, Joshua Okoroji-Schaeffer, Matthew Tanis, Mikal Garcia, Tajahn Joyner.

Women’s basketball: Amricyan Fernandez-Scherington, Ephemian Bailey, Juliana Davis, Lindsay McDonald, Morgan Genness, Rylie Harlow, Stephanie Hart.

Women’s cross country: Diana Marquez-Frias, Kathleen Messer.

Field hockey: Carley McCaie, Emma Ganley, Grace Kerr, Jenna Morse, Jessica Morse, Lena Kassel, Lena Spadafore, Olivia Narkevicius, Samantha Rozum, Sophia Piper, Sophia Yates, Joyce Arbia.

Football: Amzie Hinkley, Calvin Guillaume, Cameron Monette, Christopher Emslie, Dylan Cosner, Elijah McKnight, Frank Opoku, Giancarlo Marazzo-Henry, Jakob Lufkin, John McGarry, Keyshawn McCurdy, Logan Perez, Nicholas Notenboom.

Ice hockey: Anthony Ceolin, Antoine Gignac, Brendan Walk, Cameron Isabelle, Christian Halbig, Cole Archambeault, Egan Wolford, Gene Bouthiette, Hunter Fortin, Jack Johansen, Jack Saavedra, Jeremy Maillet, Joseph Gilbert, Joshua Miller, Matthew Radder, Michael Macchioni, Nolan Sargent, Oliver Cookson,
Rece Bergeman, Samuel Rennick, Toivo Kramer, Trenton Skaggs, Wyatt Wilmshurst.

Men’s indoor track: Chris Morales, Ryan Parisi, Zion Barber-Amado, Cole Donelan, Aidan Cattelan, Andrew Bedard, Benjamin Sacramone, Brady Madigan, Cameron Davis, Nathaniel Felix.

Women’s indoor track: Cassandra Israelson, Grace Casale, Makany Camara, Olivia Kephart, Trishannah Scott, Emily Russo, Abigail Murphy, Courtney Brouillet, Erin Donelan, Jenna Aubuchon, Lilah McAndrew, Maria Burnett, Marjorie Veliotis, Skye Goba, Sophie Geremia.

Men’s soccer: Bennet Jorgensen, Brian Doyle, Collin Robson, Edward Paiva, Francesco Campione, Juan Sambrano, Kenny Cherry, Luke Speers, Rizkhan Muhwezi.

Women’s soccer: Abaigeal Gilman, Adrianna Westcott, Alisha Praileau, Allison Gough, Charlotte Meixsell, Jessica St. George, Katie Moran, Kayleen McCormack, Kendra Peretzman, Madison Hippert, Regina Pallotta, Sera Gagnon, Sophia Moore, Taylor Rodriguez, Taylor Senecal, Zoe Chrisostomides.

Volleyball: Alissa Olmsted, Catherine Goodearl, Emily Gelinas, Meredith Taylor, Samantha Mirra, Shianne Harewood, Stephanie Sardella, Sariah Dyer.

Boys basketball

Fitchburg 55, Shrewsbury 31: Omar Rodriguez had 17 points to lead the Red Raiders to a road win, while Victor Kukta added 10 points in the victory.

North Middlesex 67, Westboro 55: Brian Morse led four Patriots in double figures with 17 points. Mike Reardon added 12 and Jake Steinmann and Cade Callahan each had 10.

Girls basketball

Shrewsbury 56, Fitchburg 30: Shamarie Rodriguez led the Red Raiders (1-13) with 12 points. Ella Kitchin added eight points in the loss.

The Lunenburg High girls basketball team was defeated by Tyngsboro on Tuesday. (Courtesy Tyngsboro Athletics)
The Lunenburg High girls basketball team was defeated by Tyngsboro on Tuesday. (Courtesy Tyngsboro Athletics)

Westboro 62, North Middlesex 41:  The loss drops the Patriots to 4-9.

Marlboro 58, Oakmont 54: Victoria Mays scored 14 points to lead the Spartans (5-7).

Tyngsboro 55, Lunenburg 40: The Blue Knights drop to 1-11 with the loss.

Local roundup: Bernardians get back to .500

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The St. Bernard’s boys basketball team evened its record at 6-6 with a 53-38 win over Collegiate Charter School of Lowell on Monday evening.

The Bernardians will next face West Boylston at the Activity Center on Wednesday night.

Nashoba 74, St. Paul 60: Jacob Belsanti had 23 points and Jack Lagarde chipped in with 21 as the Wolves improved to 9-2.

Monty Tech 62, Narragansett 41: Jaden Jones had 16 points to lift the Bulldogs (7-6) past the Warriors.

Gardner 60, Ayer-Shirley 57: Brian Holmes and Cam Marshall each had 15 points for the Panthers (8-5).

Girls basketball

Ayer-Shirley 48, Gardner 31: Ava Murphy poured in a game-high 19 points for the Panthers (9-2, 6-1 Mid-Wach D).

Maddie Davis added 13 points and Maleah Figueroa scored nine points in the victory.

Nashoba 57, St. Paul 23: The win lifts the Wolves to 9-2.

North Middlesex 59, Fitchburg 41: Julia Landry poured in a game-high 21 points to pace the Patriots. Caitlin O’Brien added eight points in the win.

The Red Raiders (1-12) were led by Beautiful Sanchez, who scored 10 points, while MJ Thammachak and Gianna Calderon each had nine. Gianexis Santiago chipped in with eight points.

Indoor track and field

Fitchburg High’s Stephen Bate and the girls 4×200 relay team impressed at the MSTCA Coaches Invite Sunday in Duxbury.

Bate, a senior, placed third in the high jump with a leap of 6-0 and also claimed fifth in the long jump with a distance of 20-11.

The girls relay team of Julianna Ortiz, Fiona Palmer, Brianna Demers and MacKenzie Roy competed in the inaugural Nick DiPilato 4×200, running a race dedicated to coach Sara DiPilato Lamey’s father.

Red Raiders surge past Patriots

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FITCHBURG — In a game at rival Leominster on Jan. 13, Fitchburg High boys basketball coach James McCall lamented his team’s inability to close out games, an issue that had plagued the Red Raiders all season. That night, the guests led throughout and did so comfortably before falling apart in the fourth quarter and losing by 11.

For at least one night, the fourth quarter struggles disappeared.

The Red Raiders played perhaps their best basketball of the night in the final stanza Monday, surging past a pesky North Middlesex Regional side to win 56-49 at the Doug Grutchfield Field House.

The win was the third straight for Fitchburg, which improves to 5-4 on the season with a game at Shrewsbury slated for Tuesday evening. The Patriots fall to 2-9.

Ahead 40-38 entering the fourth, the Red Raiders opened on an 12-2 run to take control in the first 4:35. A pair of baskets by Omar Rodriguez (21 points) bookended a pair of drives by Elijah Jeffreys (14 points, 12 rebounds) before Victor Kutka (10 points) closed the spurt with a pair of hoops for a 52-40 lead.

Fitchburg's Elijah Jeffreys goes up for a layup during Monday's win over North Middlesex Regional. (Sentinel & Enterprise / Gary Fournier)
Fitchburg’s Elijah Jeffreys goes up for a layup during Monday’s win over North Middlesex Regional. (Sentinel & Enterprise / Gary Fournier)

The Patriots answered with a basket by Jackson Hendley and four straight points from Brian Morse (21 points, including six 3-pointers) to cut the lead to 52-47 with 2:26 to go, but turnovers killed North Middlesex late as the guests handed the ball over eight times in the final eight minutes.

A drive by Kutka pushed the lead back up to seven and Rodriguez made three of four from the charity stripe in the final minute to seal the victory.

Behind the hot shooting of Morse, the Patriots made things interesting early on. The junior buried a pair of 3-pointers toward the end of the opening quarter to tie the game at 11 before a drive by Fitchburg’s Joshua Medina gave the hosts a 13-11 edge after one.

Morse hit another pair from long distance in the second quarter, the latter of which propelled the Patriots in front, 22-20.

But every time the Patriots gained some momentum, the Red Raiders ratcheted up the defensive intensity. After Rodriguez scored on an offensive rebound, Jeffreys came up with a steal and layup to put the hosts back in front.

Down 27-26 late in the first half, Zion Ayala converted a pair of free throws and Rodriguez notched a steal and drive to send Fitchburg to halftime ahead 30-27.

The Patriots battled back in the third, pulling even at 35 courtesy of a pair of free throws by Joshua Gallagher with 2:44 left in the quarter. After an old-fashioned three-point play by Joshua Rodriguez gave Fitchburg a three-point lead, Morse responded from well beyond the arc to tie things at 38 with 56 seconds left in the third.

But again, Omar Rodriguez had the answer for Fitchburg, scoring off a jumper to send the Red Raiders to the final eight minutes with a two-point edge.