NORTHFIELD, Vt. –Will Watkins Jr. (Southbridge, Mass.) broke a Worcester State University single game record with 10 three pointers in the Lancers' first win of the season at Norwich Sunday (Dec. 3) afternoon.
THE BASICS
December 3, 2017
Andrews Hall
Score: Worcester State 83, Norwich 80
Records: Worcester State (1-7) | Norwich (0-5)
1ST HALF
The teams traded points in the first three minutes of play until Norwich went on an 8-0 run on baskets from Ryan Booth (Northfield, Vt.) and Tommy Fitzgerald (Williston, Vt.) to take a 13-4 lead. Worcester State fought back with a 9-0 run led by a Cal Howes (Maynard, Mass.) 3-pointer. The game saw ties at 13, 16, and 18 until Booth put the Cadets up by three with 11 minutes on the clock. Jesse Davis (Woodinville, Wash.) made two back-to-back triples and Zygimanta Sirvydas (Silale, Lithuania) gave the Cadets eight consecutive points to put Norwich ahead 29-20 with 8:06 to go in the first half. The Lancers came back with a run of their own to get within two a minute later. Norwich held the lead until Watkins scored two long shots for the Blue and Gold to pull ahead by three. Worcester State kept the 3-point gap and closed out the half on top 41-38.
2ND HALF
Norwich stole back the lead two minutes into the second when Booth connected on a triple. The majority of the second was a 3-point battle as Watkins and the Cadets kept draining three's. The Cadets saw their last lead with 2:47 on the clock succeeding a layup from Davis. Shaun McCarthy (Oxford, Mass.) responded with a layup and Watkins netted another triple to give Worcester State a 76-74 gain. Despite Booth making a three with 1:09 on the clock to knot the score at 77-77, McCarthy scored a layup on the next possession and Howes drained a pair of free throws with 17 seconds on the clock for an 81-77 score. Norwich got within two following a pair of free throws from Sirvydas with four seconds on the clock, though, Worcester State's Chris Cardoso (Jamaica Plains, Mass.) made a free throw following a Norwich foul to put the score at 83-80. Norwich attempted a triple with just two seconds on the clock, but the Cadets were unable to send the game into overtime and the Lancers prevailed.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Watkins poured in 37 points, seemingly unable to miss from 3-point land as he went 10-14 from behind the arc and went 13-18 from the field. He broke the Worcester State single-game record with the 10 3-pointers. The record was previously held by Alex Santos who made nine triples against Fitchburg State on Jan. 16, 2016.
- With Watkins' phenomenal performance, he was named to the Ed Hockenbury Classic All-Tournament team.
- Howes and Cardoso collected 16 and 15 points, respectively, while McCarthy posted 13 with 11 rebound to mark his second double-double of the season. He went 6-for-9 from the field.
- Cardoso guided the offense with nine helpers.
- For the Cadets, Davis, Booth, and Sirvydas totaled 20-19-17 points, respectively.
- Booth and Joe Betrand (Saugus, Mass.) logged five rebounds each in the setback.
- Sirvydas logged a team-high eight assists for Norwich.
- Worcester State shot a season-best 54.5% from the field and 48.3% from 3-point range.
- The Lancers outrebounded the Cadets 32-25.
- The game saw 11 ties and 17 lead changes.
UP NEXT
The Lancers return home this week as they host Becker on Tuesday (Dec. 5), and then Mount Ida on Thursday (Dec. 7) inside the Lancer Gymnasium.
GET SOCIAL
Follow Worcester State Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube