Danbury, CT --- Western Connecticut junior Joe Groski (New Milford, CT) finished with 19 points, four rebounds and three blocks to help lead the Colonials to a 75-57 victory over Worcester State this evening in non-league men's basketball action this evening.
Sophomore Ronnie Underwood (Bridgeport, NY) was a spark for Western Connecticut (6-2) with 12 points in 19 minutes of action while junior Jengodji Gates (Worcester, MA/Paul Robinson – NY) notched 10 for the hosts.
The Lancers (0-6) were paced by senior Dane Jobst (Athol, MA) who had a team-best 13 points as freshman Paul Brooks (Arlington, MA) registered his first collegiate double-double with 10 points and a game-high 10 boards.
Freshman Marquez McKreith-Collins (Springfield, MA/Cathedral) and junior Jake Ratcliffe (Northbridge, MA) also tallied seven points apiece for the Blue and Gold.
It was close for much of the opening stanza as Ratcliffe nailed a trifecta for the 26-23 contest with 4:17 left. West Conn though scored the next six points and finished the period strong for the 34-28 advantage at the intermission.
It was a three-point game early in the second before the hosts went on a 12-0 run to take over the 45-34 margin with 12:43 remaining in regulation.
WSU came right back to get it to six points two minutes later (48-42), but the Colonials went back up into double digits for their largest lead of the contest with a 9-2 run and the 57-44 edge around the nine-minute mark.
The Lancers got as close as eight with 6:26 on the clock (60-52), however, that was as close as they got as Western Connecticut closed out the stanza with a 15-5 surge to earn the win.
Worcester State actually held the 45-40 edge in rebounds and used a 19-11 margin to own second chance points, 15-12.
West Conn led in points in the paint (48-40) and netted over one third of their sum off of their opponents 28 miscues with 17 swipes for the 28-18 lead in points off turnovers.
The hosts hit nearly 50 percent of their shots (48 percent – 30-for-63), but only two of their 17 bids from beyond the arc while also struggling from the line (13-for-22 – 59 percent).
WSU posted a modest 36 percent tally from the field for the game (24-for-65) as they also did not fare well from downtown, draining just two of their 14 attempts.
The Lancers will head to the Ed Hockenbury Tournament this weekend at Norwich and take on Trinity in the first round at 8 PM on Saturday. West Conn travels north to Southern Maine for their LEC opener on Saturday at 3 o'clock.
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