WORCESTER, Mass. – Four Worcester State University men's basketball players scored in double digits to help the Lancers seize a 66-54 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) victory over the visiting Framingham State Rams Wednesday evening inside the Lancer Gymnasium.
Senior Ryan DiBernardo (Springfield, Mass.) led the team with a game-high 15 points as he made 4-of-5 (80%) triples throughout the contest. Jeremy Bacon (Milford, Mass.) picked up 14 points, while Corey Gatta (Sturbridge, Mass.) made four 3-pointers to total 12 points. Senior center Paul Brooks (Arlington, Mass.) contributed a double-double of 10 points and 13 rebounds, and blocked four Ram shots.
For the Rams, Bertholyn Alexandre (Hyde Park, Mass.) notched a team-high and double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds. Wesley Ogbevoen (Boston, Mass.) and Timothy Mangano (Winchester, Mass.) added 12 and nine points, respectively.
After three ties in the first five minutes of the game, Framingham State went on an 8-0 run to hold a 16-8 advantage with 9:03 to go in the first half. However, Worcester State's steal and dunk from Bacon with 5:37 remaining sparked a 13-1 run for the Lancers, in which they took a 4-point lead with 2:02 remaining. Framingham State added two more points to the scoreboard before the half to go into the intermission with a score of 23-21.
In the first half, each team struggled from the field as Worcester State was 9-of-23 (27.3%) from the field and Framingham State shot at the 31.3% mark. However, the second half was a different story for both teams, especially Worcester State who notched a 66.7% field goal percentage in that frame.
Worcester State held a slim margin on the Rams in the beginning of the first half until they gained a 7-point lead five minutes in on a triple from Gatta. However, Framingham State ignited a 5-0 run on a pair of free throw shots from Ogbevoen and a trey from Daniel Gould (Quincy, Mass.).
The Rams saw their first lead of the half when Patrick Gould (Quincy, Mass.) and Ogbevoen drained a pair of triples to give the visitors a 1-point advantage at 48-47. This would prove to be Framingham State's last lead of the game as Worcester stole it back seconds later on a triple from DiBernardo which generated a 12-0 run to give the Lancers a lead of 11 with 6:01 remaining in the game. The Blue and Gold kept their lead and ended the game with their largest lead of 12 following a pair of free throws from Bacon to conclude the game on top 66-54.
Prior to the game, Worcester State recognized its five seniors with a presentation of framed jerseys. The seniors recognized were #55 Brooks, #21 DiBernardo, #10 Aaron Anniballi (Milford, Mass.), #5 Chris Vasquez (Lawrence, Mass.) and #2 Austin Keeler (Holyoke, Mass.).
Worcester State (8-16, 6-5 MASCAC) will conclude the regular season on the road Saturday (Feb. 18) at Westfield State, while Framingham State (7-17, 4-7 MASCAC) travels to Fitchburg State on the same date.
