Worcester State 72, Salve Regina 54
Worcester, MA --- Senior Maurice Horton (Detroit, MI) logged his 21st career double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds to help propel Worcester State to a 72-54 victory this evening over Salve Regina in non-conference men’s basketball at the Lancer Gymnasium.
With the win the Lancers presented 16th year head coach Dave Lindberg with his 200th career coaching victory in the triumph as the Blue and Gold improved their record to 5-6. With the loss, the Seahawks slip to 1-10.
Worcester State was also paced by senior Pat Hamilton (Templeton, MA) and junior Dave Douillette (Bridgewater, MA) who each tallied equal totals of 12 points and 6 boards. Third-year Ryan Testagrossa (Athol, MA) and freshman Monte Goodwin (Boston, MA/Belmont) also recorded eight points apiece. Horton wrapped up his night dishing out five assists.
Grad student Jabreche Boyd (West Haven, CT) notched a team-high 18 points for the Seahawks while freshman Trey Scales (Boston, MA/Concord-Carlisle) added 12 points. Junior Dan Royce (Mahwah, NJ) chipped in with 8 points and 9 caroms for the visitors.
Salve Regina led by as many as eight (22-14) with 8:02 left in the first period before Worcester State went on a 10-0 run to take a 23-22 advantage with just over five minutes remaining. Over the course of the rest of the half there would be a pair of lead changes and three ties as the Lancers would end out on top clinging to a 33-31 edge at the break.
After the intermission the Seahawks would tie the score twice in the opening minutes of the second stanza, but WSC would use a big run to take control of the game and the lead for good. With the score knotted 40-40 at 15:34, Worcester State would outscore visitors 30-7 over the next 10 minutes to take a commanding 70-47 edge as they cruised ahead for the victory.
During the Lancers scoring outburst, Salve Regina would go 0-for-10 from beyond the arc and 2-for-12 from the field.
Worcester State controlled the boards as they held a 46-25 advantage overall and a 15-7 edge off the offensive glass. WSC also dominated the paint as they doubled up the Seahawks 40-20.
Both teams shot poorly from three point land as the Salve Regina was 5-for-27 for the entire game (1-for-15 in the second) and Worcester State connected for 2 of their 15 attempts (0-for-10 in first). One-third of the Seahawks scoring total was from the free throw line as they went 17-for-26 from the charity stripe.
Lindberg in his 16th season is 200-207 overall as a head coach of the Lancers.
Both teams will open up conference play on the road on Saturday. Worcester State travels to MCLA for a 5 PM matchup while Salve Regina will face off against Anna Maria at 3 o’clock.