ONEONTA, N.Y. – Graduate student Erik Bjorn (Holden, Mass.) posted his third straight double-double to begin the season, but the Worcester State men's basketball team fell 80-71 to Sage College on Friday evening in the opening round of the Quality Inn Tip-Off Tournament, Hosted by Oneonta State.
Bjorn scored 15 points on 4-7 shooting and had 12 rebounds, but the Lancers couldn't keep pace with the efficiency of the Gators, who shot 50% from the field (29-58).
Sage led 44-37 at the half in a game that featured four ties and 12 lead turnovers. A layup by Bjorn tied a back and forth affair at 17 with eight minutes gone.
A steal and layup by Zion Hendrix (Charlotte, N.C.), who had 14 points off the Worcester State bench, gave the Lancers a 30-29 lead, but Sage used a pair of traditional three-point plays to spark a 9-0 run. They extended their lead to 41-32 on a layup by Amani Cummings (Brooklyn, N.Y.), and took a double-digit lead on a Cumming free-throw in the final minute and a half of the first half.
The Sage lead reached 16 thanks to buckets on three straight possessions by Will Ruiz (Bronx, N.Y.), but Worcester State pulled back to an eight-point deficit when Chris Cardoso (Jamaica Plain, Mass.) hit a three-pointer with 8:47 to play.
The Gators, however, did not allow Worcester State any momentum from that bucket, scoring eight of the next ten points. They grew their lead to 17, at 80-63, on their way to sealing the game away despite an 8-0 run by Worcester State to end the game.
Worcester shot 7-24 from three-point range, led by Cardoso, Sam Dion (Barre, Mass.) and Hendrix, who combined to go 7-18 from long range. The Gators were just 2-11 from three-point land. The Lancers also shot well from the foul line, going 18-20 (90%) at the stripe.
Cardoso scored a game-high 20 points, while also dishing out four assists. Ryan Rubenskas (Bridgewater, Mass.) added eight points and six rebounds.
For the Gators, Jalon Borders (Bartow, Fla.) led the way with 17 points, along with three assists, five rebounds and two steals.
Jason Geronimo (Orlando, Fla.) had a double-double off the bench with 10 points and 11 rebounds, and Ruiz had 13 off the pine as well.
Worcester State (1-2) will face either SUNY Oneonta or Cobleskill tomorrow afternoon in the consolation game of the tournament. The Gators advance to the championship, which will either be at 1:00 PM if it is against Cobleskill or 3 pm against the host Red Dragons.