WORCESTER, Mass.- Shaun McCarthy (Oxford, Mass.) gets a double-double to give Worcester State their first Massachusetts Collegiate Athletic Conference win over the Framingham State Rams, 77-59, Wednesday night at John P. Brissette Court.
With the win, the Lancers advance to 8-7 overall (1-1 in MASCAC play), while the Rams fall to 2-12 overall (1-1 MASCAC).
The Lancers put up the first points of the night on a layup from McCarthy and never looked back. Cameron McCloud-Thomas (Springfield, Mass.) started the Rams' scoring on a layup of his own and helped to keep them in the fight throughout the first half. A technical foul from Chris Cardoso (Jamaica Plain, Mass.) put Manny Payton (Fitchburg, Mass.) on the line for the visitors and his two made free throws made the score 25-20 with just over five minutes remaining in the half. Tyler Dion (Barre, Mass.) closed out the half strong for Worcester State with a layup and triple sending the Lancers into the locker room up 34-22.
Worcester State came into the second half strong going on a 7-0 run, a layup from Khaneil Bruce (Cambridge, Mass.) ended the Lancer's run at 41-27. Dion's layup and free throw that came five minutes into the half put Worcester State up 13 points and they didn't look back. The Lancers took their largest lead of the night after a McCarthy layup at the 13:07 mark that put the hosts up 22 points.
The Rams had ten steals and 13 offensive rebounds on the night, despite their loss. Worcester State only gave up the lead once all night early in the first half. The team totalled 52 rebounds throughout the night and managed six steals.
Bruce recorded a double-double for the Rams in the loss, tallying 11 rebounds and 11 points tonight. Payton recorded 21 points in the loss.
McCarthy's double-double in the night tallied the game high 22 points and 11 rebounds. Frantz Francois (Boston, Mass.) and Erik Bjorn (Holden, Mass.) each totaled nine rebounds to help the Lancers' defensive efforts. In addition to McCarthy's points, Dion helped lead Worcester State's offense ending the night with 16 points.
Next up for the Lancers, they will face MCLA at home on Saturday in conference action. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. Framingham State will head to Salem State on the same day in another conference matchup.
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