AMHERST, Mass. – The Worcester State University men's basketball team fell to Amherst College on Saturday (Nov. 21) in the championship game of the Ken Wright '52 Invitational. The Lancers drop to 2-2 on the season, while Amherst College is off to a 2-0 record thus far this season.
Worcester State's Jamal Mustapha (Worcester, Mass.) guided the team with 17 points and six rebounds. He went 6-for-11 from the field and 66 percent from the 3-point range (2-for-3). Bilal Shakir (Worcester, Mass.) scored 14 points and had nine rebounds, while junior center, Paul Brooks (Arlington, Mass.), tallied up 12 points and six rebounds. Marquez McKreith-Collins (Springfield, Mass.) had seven points and nine rebounds for the Blue and Gold.
Amherst College's Eric Conklin had a game-high 18 points, while four other players scored in double digits (David George, Jayde Dawson, Connor Green, and Michael Riopel). George registered a double-double with 11 points and rebounds apiece.
Worcester State started the game on top on a layup from Ryan DiBernardo (Springfield, Mass.) from where each team battled and the score was tied three times within the first five minutes of play. Though, with 12:24 on the clock in the first half, Amherst College's, Green, made a three-pointer which started a run for the Purple and White. Amherst College scored eight unanswered points, and increased their lead to 20 with 4:18 left on the clock in the first.
Going into the second half with a 48-29 deficit, the Lancers fought back to shorten Amherst's lead. Though, they remained about 20 points behind of Amherst throughout the entirety of the game. This resulted in a 97-79 win for the Purple and White, who claimed the tournament title.
The Lancers will be back in action this Tuesday (Nov. 24) when they will take on cross-town rivals, WPI in a non-conference matchup on the campus of WPI. The game is set for a 7:30 p.m. start time.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
- MPV – Eric Conklin, Amherst
- David George, Amherst
- Paul Brooks, Worcester State
- Bilal Shakir, Worcester State
- Matt Duquette, Suffolk
- Rahim Bunch, Johnson State