WORCESTER, Mass. – Worcester State never trailed as they finished their regular season with a 94-49 victory over Framingham State in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) men's basketball action on Saturday afternoon at Brissette '88 Competition Court.
Before the game, the Lancers celebrated the careers of their five graduating seniors. That class includes Corey Olivier (Maynard, Mass.), Chris Cardoso (Jamaica Plain, Mass.), Erik Bjorn (Holden, Mass.), Otis Wheeler (Worcester, Mass.), and Tyler Spencer (Pembroke, Mass.).
The team also presented a commemorative basketball to Cardoso, who scored his 1,000th career point earlier this season.
Then they went out and hit 13 three-pointers while holding Framingham to below 30% from the floor. Worcester State forced Framingham into 2-11 shooting from behind the three-point line and scored 22 points off of 14 Rams turnovers.
Cardoso, Bjorn and Spencer were all in double-figures, while Wheeler and Olivier dished out a team-high four assists apiece.
Spencer led all players with 15 points, including 5 made three-pointers as Worcester State opened the game on an 11-0 run. They hit their first four three-pointers, three of them from Spencer, as they extended the lead to 20-6 and never looked back.
The Lancers held Framingham to just 9-35 (25%) from the floor in the first half while shooting 46% from the floor. The even more efficient in the second half, going 18-35 (51.4%) from the field and 8-19 (42%) from three.
Cardoso had 13 points at the break, while Spencer had 9 points, four rebounds and two blocks at the half.
Zion Hendrix (Charlotte, N.C.), Spencer and Sam Dion (Barre, Mass.) hit back to back to back threes in the middle of the second half to push the Lancers to their largest lead to 35.
Bjorn had 12 points and 9 rebounds, along with three of Worcester's 7 blocked shots. Spencer had two swats and two assists to go with six boards. Hendrix and Ryan Rubenskas (Bridgewater, Mass.) had 10 points apiece, while Daniel Liberatore (Hopedale, Mass.) hit a pair of threes to score six points in eight minutes and Orlando Thompson (Boston, Mass.) chipped in 7 points on 3-3 shooting off the bench.
Framingham was led by eight points apiece from Ivan Nyantenji (Nashua, N.H.) and Deshaun Lowery (Conroe, Texas). Joshua-Daniel Okafor (Boston, Mass.) had seven points and seven rebounds, and Brett Okundaye (Boston, Mass.) had a team-high 8 rebounds.
Heading into the game, Worcester State had already clinched the #3 seed in the MASCAC tournament, which begins Tuesday evening. The Lancers will host a quarterfinal game at 7:30 PM, while Framingham State will be on the road for their quarterfinal matchup.