Box Score WESTON, MA – The Thomas men's basketball team fell short in the consolation of the Moe's Queso Classic 65-57 to Framingham State University on Saturday afternoon.
Junior Levi Barnes was named an All-Tourney selection, as he averaged 26.5 points in the two games, shot 54.2% (19-35) from the field including an efficient 50% (8-16) from three-point range and averaging 2.5 rebounds and assists as well.
Framingham State (3-1) started off the contest with a 15-0 run that included three three-pointers. This was the the Rams biggest advantage of the game at the 14:19 mark.
Eric Westbrooks finally got the Terriers (1-4) on the board at the 13:29 mark after he knocked in a three-pointer. Both teams each exchanged points for the majority of the half until Thomas went on a 12-2 run in the closing 6:20 of the half.
The run started after Westbrooks made a jumper from mid-range and continued as Adam Carlsen and Mike Akanji both buried three-balls to cut the Rams lead to three points with 1:04 left. Akanji ended the scoring before the half as he made a layup.
The Rams went into halftime with a 29-28 advantage and were outscored by the Terriers by a 28-14 margin over a 13 minute span.
The second half began as both teams began trading points. Thomas however, took their first lead of the contest 7:35 into the second stanza after Barnes buried a jumper after a Daniel Gould missed three-point attempt. Following the make by Barnes, the Rams scored four consecutive points capped off by a Mangano bucket to make the Ram lead six points at 46-40 with 10:10 left in the contest.
Both squads kept answering each other by matching shots, the Terriers kept fighting back as they reduced the deficit to two points after Westbrooks made a jump shot with 4:28 remaining. The Rams then outscored the Terriers 11-5 during the final four minutes of the contest and escaped with the win.
McCarthy had a team-high 14 points in the game, while Patrick Cuff added six points and scooped up nine rebounds. Leading the Terriers was Westbrooks who scored a game-high 19 points while recording six rebounds. Barnes also chipped in with 18 points, while dishing out five assists and securing three boards.
The men's basketball team heads back home on Tuesday night to host in-town rival Colby College at 7:30pm.
