FITCHBURG, Mass. – Mount Ida trailed by as many as ten points in the second half, but rallied with a late surge to earn a 74-61 victory over Fitchburg State in non-conference men's basketball action on Thursday night at Fitchburg State Recreation Center. 

Junior Everett Ramirez (Los Angeles, Calif.) led the Mustang offense, posting 19 points and seven rebounds on the night, while sophomore Cam Walker (New Bedford, Mass.), senior Kenny Jean (Dorchester, Mass.) and junior Treace Macklin (Brockton, Mass.) all notched double-figures with 15 points, 13 points and 13 points respectively. 

Sophomore Anthony Muccioli (Nashua, N.H.) registered a game-best 19 points with 9-of-22 shooting this evening, for Fitchburg State, who built an eight point cushion at the break and went up by as many as ten during the second period before the Mustangs clawed back for their second win of the season.   

Muccioli added six boards and five assists, while sophomore Josh Imadiyi (Lynn, Mass.) pitched in a near double-double with 13 points and nine caroms. Sophomore Brian Weihn (Clinton, Mass.) contributed 11 points and five boards off the bench.  

In the first half, Fitchburg State opened an eight point lead at the break (33-25), using a pair of ten point efforts from Muccioli and Imadiyi. The Falcons used a 16-1 run midway through the frame to grab an eight point advantage, using four baskets from Muccioli and buckets from both Lincoln Wright (Brockton, Mass.) and Imadiyi. 

The Falcons extended their lead to nine with a three pointer from Josh Stambovsky (Longmeadow, Mass.), but the Mustangs crept back slowly, closing to within two (27-25) with a 10-3 run over the next six minutes of play. Fitchburg State closed the half strong though as Muccioli, Mo Molin (Brockton, Mass.) and Imadiyi connected for three consecutive buckets. 

The second half proved to be a different story as Mount Ida came out flying, closing within one by the 13:59 mark. Tyree Singletary (Newark, N.J.) sparked the rally with a trey at the 17:24 mark, before Walker rifled off five consecutive points to bring the Mustangs within one (38-37). 

The Falcons withstood the Mustang heat and inched their lead back up to six with five points from Muccioli, but Mount Ida would string together an 18-6 run to go up by seven (60-43) with just 4:45 remaining in the contest. The Mustangs sealed the victory down the stretch as a three from Ramirez and a pair of free-throws from Macklin found their mark. 

For the game, Mount Ida dominated the boards, holding a 52-37 margin, including a 20-13 advantage on the offensive glass. Both teams shot near 38.0% for the night, while the free-throw line proved to be the difference maker with Mount Ida connecting on 17 attempts in the contest. 

Jean had eight rebounds, as did Walker and they each had a pair of steals, with Walker adding two blocks. Ramirez and Nathan Bueno (Methuen, Mass.) led the Mustangs with four assists apiece. 

Mount Ida (2-5) will travel to Anna Maria College on Saturday at 3 p.m. for their final game before the Holiday Break and their second game of the year in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) (0-1). 

Fitchburg State (0-6, 0-0 MASCAC) will be back in action on Saturday as it visits WPI at 2 p.m.