Westfield, MA --- Behind 23 points, five assists and five three-pointers by Westfield State senior Andre King (Springfield, MA/Suffield Academy), the Owls defeated Worcester State, 101-81, in MASCAC men's basketball action this afternoon at the Woodard Center.
Westfield State (16-6, 9-1 MASCAC) was also led by senior Grant Cooper (Northampton, MA) who netted 20 points, grabbed nine rebounds and he dished out five helpers.
Senior Dan Tessier (Uxbridge, MA), sophomore Jesus Sanchez (Springfield, MA/Holderness) and sophomore Jose Allen (Amherst, MA) all finished with 13, 12 and 11 points, respectively.
The Lancers (5-18, 2-8 MASCAC) were paced by sophomore Paul Brooks (Arlington, MA) who poured in a team-best 16 points with five boards while senior Charles Gunter (Boston, MA/New Misson) chipped in with 18 points and six caroms.
Senior Brendan Rios (Easthampton, MA) swished in 15 points and sophomore Marquez McKreith-Collins (Springfield, MA/Cathedral) ended his night with 11 points, four rebounds and four swipes.
Worcester State grabbed the 25-19 advantage with 9:17 on the clock in the first stanza on the back of a three-point play by Gunter. Westfield State then answered by utilizing a 15-5 skein to take over a 34-30 edge 3½ minutes later.
The Lancers closed to within 39-39 after three consecutive free throws by McKreith-Collins, but the Owls ended the period with a 13-7 spurt to lead 52-45 at the intermission.
Westfield State went up by 11 early on in the second frame before Worcester State reeled off a 17-7 run to tie up the score at 71-71 with 9:46 remaining in regulation as DiBernardo and McKreith-Collins combined for 10 points in the surge for the Blue and Gold.
King, however, sparked a 10-0 stretch by the hosts which gave them a 83-73 advantage at the 5:36 mark and the Lancers never got back into the contest.
Westfield State hit half of their shots from the floor for the game (52 percent – 36-for-67) and went nearly 60 percent on their long range shots (10-for-17). The Owls also led in rebounds (38-31) while using a 15-13 edge on the offensive backboards to hold a 25-9 margin in second chance points.
The hosts also had a 14-6 margin in transition baskets and a 34-16 lead in bench scoring.
Worcester State sank a modest 41 percent of their bids for the contest (23-for-56), but only hit three of their 10 attempts from downtown. The Lancers connect on 78 percent of their free throws (32-for-41) and made the most of their foes mistakes with a 13-12 advantage in points off of turnovers.
In upcoming action, both squads return their attention to finishing the final week of regular season MASCAC play on Tuesday at 7:30. The Blue and Gold head to Fitchburg State while Westfield State plays host to MCLA.
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