Willimantic, CT --- Senior Frank Stephenson (Fall River, MA) poured in a game-best 26 points with seven assists to help lead Worcester State to an 83-76 victory over SUNY Geneseo in the consolation game of the Eastern Connecticut Tip-Off Tournament.
The Lancers (1-2) were also paced by all-tournament team representative, junior Robert Hunter (St. Louis, MO), who posted his second consecutive double-double with 14 points and 14 boards. Junior Kyle Ferreira (Westport, MA/Diman Voke Tech) added 16 points and five assists and sophomore Mike Gittens (Uncasville, CT) finished with 12 points.
Stephenson did his damage with a 10-for-16 line from the field and he was a perfect 5-for-5 from the charity stripe.
Sophomore Jordan Jones (Rochester, NY) led the Knights (0-3) as he had a team-high 23 points. Freshman James McKenna (Huntington, NY) notched 15 points and classmate Andy Drescher (Syracuse, NY) chipped in with 11. Senior Abe Miller (Buffalo, NY) grabbed eight rebounds.
Worcester State led 65-55 with 7:05 remaining in the game before SUNY Geneseo went on a 15-5 run to knot the score and send the game into overtime. The rally for the Knights was capped off by Drescher, who drilled a three-pointer with 14 seconds remaining.
In overtime, the Knights took over the quick 73-70 advantage early on, but they missed five straight free throw attempts and the Lancers took advantage as they would lead 79-73 with 54 ticks left.
McKenna banged a three-pointer with 37 seconds to get within three, but the Blue and Gold closed out the game making four-of-six from the line for the 83-76 final.
Stephenson scored six of the squads 13 points in the extra session including four free throws.
In the opening half, there were three ties and a trio of lead changes before Worcester State used a 6-2 spurt to close out the period for the 37-31 lead at the intermission.
WSU led by seven twice at the beginning of the second, but then SUNY Geneseo maintained their distance, making it a one possession game on several occasions, eventually knotting the score 52-52 at the 11:04 mark. The Lancers would then take advantage of missed shots and turnovers to open up their 65-55 advantage on a 13-3 surge.
The two squads shot well from the floor as Worcester State shot 55 percent for the contest (30-for-55) and the Knights ended with a 45 percent line from the field (29-for-64). Both teams struggled from the free throw line as SUNY Geneseo was 12-for-25 (48 percent) and the Blue and Gold made 16 of their 27 attempts (59 percent).
WSU held a 42-32 lead in rebounding, while both teams were even in offensive boards (14-14) and second chance points (10-10). The Knights scored roughly one-third of their points off of turnovers (25-18).
The Lancers will take a break until they play Clark on Thursday, December 1 at home. SUNY Geneseo will play in the first round of the Wendy's College Classic on Wenesday, November 30 at sites and times to be determined.