WESTFIELD, Mass. -- Nicholas Tracy's (Indianapolis, Ind.) layup with 13.9 seconds left in regulation was the game winner as the Fitchburg State University men's basketball team posted their second consecutive conference victory with a 65-63 win over Westfield State in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action on Tuesday evening at Parkinson Gymnasium in Fitchburg, Mass.

Joshuwa Babb drove the lane for the Falcons and drew several Owls defenders, leaving Tracy wide open for a left-handed layup to give the Falcons the lead for good.

Westfield State guard Peter Mafo went the length of the floor and had his driving attempt blocked out of bounds with about five seconds left in regulation. On the ensuing inbounds play, Westfield's Austin Joseph got a last-gasp attempt at a three pointer from the left corner that was short, securing the win for Fitchburg.

Fitchburg State improves to 7-10, 3-2 MASCAC, while Westfield State is now 8-10 overall and , 2-3 in theMASCAC.

In a first half full of runs, the Falcons held a slim lead (33-28) heading into intermission.

Knotted at 10-10, Westfield ran off six consecutive points to take a 16-10 lead with 12:52 to play in the first frame. Fitchburg State countered with a 9-3 run capped by a layup from junior Noah Fleury(Brockton, Mass.) for another deadlock (19-19). The Owls held a 26-23 advantage with 2:23 on the clock, however the hosts answered with a 10-2 run to close out the stanza for the five point advantage. FSU junior Brandon Harris (San Bernardino, Calif.) and sophomore Tyrell St. John(Stamford, Conn.) each potted four points in the run.

The Green and Gold opened the second frame with a try from junior Nicholas Tracy (Indianapolis, Ind) to extend the lead to 35-28. Westfield would chip away at the lead and eventually even the score (43-43) at the 15:46 mark with a layup from Austin Joseph (Rockland, Mass.). A pair of free-throws from Josh Bosworth (Springfield, Mass.) and a basket from Tracy would push the Falcons to a five point advantage. (50-45).

Westfield answered with a 14-2 run, included 9 points from the hands of junior Marcus Collins (Cambridge, Mass) to give the Owls a 59-52 lead with six minutes to play.

St. John finished with a team-high 15 points and 5 rebounds for the Falcons. Tracy chipped in with 14 points and Doss posted 12 points and 8 rebounds off the bench.
Collins led all scorers with 23 points for the Owls, while Joseph added 19 points.

Fitchburg State held the advantage at the charity stripe (60%-58.6%), in field goal percentage (37.5%-35%) and in rebounds (48-40).

The Falcons travel to Bridgewater State on Thursday evening for a 7:30 pm tip-off with the Bears, while Westfield will play host to Worcester State on Thursday at 7:30 at the Woodward Center.