Worcester State 72, Fitchburg State 64
Worcester, MA --- Senior Maurice Horton (Detroit, MI) netted 26 points with seven rebounds to help #4 Worcester State defeat fifth-seeded Fitchburg State 72-64 this evening in the quarterfinal round of the MASCAC Men's Basketball Tournament at the Lancer Gymnasium.
With the win the Lancers (13-13) will advance to the MASCAC semifinals to face off against top-seed Bridgewater State at 7 PM on Thursday evening. The Falcons end their 2009-10 campaign at 8-18.
Freshman Tim Henault (Lunenburg, MA) chipped in with 13 points off the bench while junior Ryan Testagrossa (Athol, MA) handed out eight assists. Sophomore Jamaal Atkins (Webster, MA) grabbed 16 boards as he now has 36 in his last two games after he pulled down a career-high 20 caroms in Saturday's triumph over Salem State.
Fitchburg State was propelled by senior Colin London (Worcester, MA/Doherty) who poured in a game-best 28 points while he also added 13 rebounds. Junior Ryan Hopkins (East Hartford, CT) notched 17 points with five boards while senior Tim Graham (Arlington, MA) finished with seven points and eight rebounds.
After five ties and three lead changes through the first 10 minutes of play, the two squads were knotted 16-16 before the Falcons used a 14-4 spurt to open up a 30-20 advantage at 5:31. Worcester State got as close as seven points twice, but FSC led by 11 at the half.
Hopkins led all scorers in the opening frame with 17 points while London contributed 16.
The Lancers would gradually whittle down the lead to one point in the second period as they used a 10-2 run to open up the stanza (39-38). A trey by junior Rolffi Canela (Perth Amboy, NJ) made the score 42-38 at 13:52, but the Falcons committed four miscues in consecutive possessions to help put Worcester State on top 44-42 at the nine minute mark.
Graham would tie the score at 44-44, but WSC continued to take advantage of missed shots and turnovers as they went on an 11-4 surge to lead 55-48 with 3:50 left in regulation. The Falcons got as close as four points twice and trailed 57-53 at 2:41, but the Lancers outscored the visitors 13-4 to balloon their lead up to 13 points (70-57) as they cruised ahead for the victory.
The game was a tale of two half's as the Falcons connected for 44 percent of their shots - including 39 percent of their three pointers (5-for-13) - in the opening stanza. In the final period Fitchburg State only made eight of the 24 shots they took from the field while they only dropped one of their six attempts from downtown.
Worcester State shot 41 percent for the game (28-for-67) and a porous 13 percent from three point land (2-for-16), which was due in large part to going 1-for-11 in the opening half. The Lancers held advantages in points in the paint (44-30), points off turnovers (23-14) and second chance points (20-8).
WSC outscored the visitors 46-27 in the final stanza.