By Patrick Peterson
The Framingham State Rams opened the month of December with a 79-61 home loss to the visiting Suffolk University Rams.
The Rams were led by Emmanuel Payton, who scored a game-high 19 points to go along with five rebounds in 37 minutes.
Framingham also received contributions from Charles Valbrun and Trevor Manyak, who each scored nine points off the bench in the loss.
Suffolk took an early lead, outscoring Framingham 44-22 in the first half.
The visitors were incredibly efficient, shooting 62.5 percent from the field and 46.7 percent on 3-pointers in the half.
Meanwhile, Framingham made just 32 percent of their attempts and did not make a single 3-pointer.
Framingham greatly improved their shooting in the second half, going 3-for-5 from 3-point range and shooting 50 percent from the field.
They also increased their effort on defense, turning the ball over eight times while recording three steals as well as three blocks, two of which came from forward Khaneil Bruce.
Framingham’s 39 second-half points proved not to be enough as the team fell to 1-5 on the season.
The Rams suffered their sixth straight loss of the season on Tuesday to the visiting WPI Engineers by a final score of 70-61.
Tyri Hampton led the team with 16 points and posted a double-double in 35 minutes of action.
Leading scorer Emmanuel Payton contributed to the offense with 13 points and three rebounds, while Charles Valbrun provided a spark off the bench, notching seven points and seven rebounds in the losing effort.
It was another poor shooting performance for the Rams as they shot 39.7 percent from the field and 21.4 percent from 3-point range.
WPI’s numbers were not significantly better, shooting 43.9 percent from the Held and 26.3 percent from 3, but their effort defensively resulted in 22 Framingham turnovers.
Despite trailing for much of the game, the Rams made things interesting late in the second half.
A basket by Payton brought the game within a single score, but the Engineers answered immediately with a 3-point dagger to seal the victory.
The loss dropped the Rams to 1-6 on the season.