Worcester, MA --- Junior John Jones (Worcester, MA/South) poured in 16 points and finished with totals of six rebounds and three swipes to help pace MCLA to a 75-71 triumph over Worcester State in MASCAC men's basketball action this evening.
The Trailblazers (5-9, 2-0 MASCAC) were also highlighted by senior Bilal Shabazz (Schenectady, NY) who chipped in with 13 points and sophomore Ruben DelRosario's (Springfield, MA/Central) 12 points.
Fourth-year Richard Johnson (Springfield, MA/Commerce) added nine points and seven boards as freshman Paul Maurice (Boston, MA/Snowden) grabbed a team-high nine caroms.
Worcester State (7-7, 1-2 MASCAC) was underscored by junior Dane Jobst's (Athol, MA) who collected his ninth double-double in 14 contests this season with 13 points and 11 boards.
Classmate Robert Hunter (St. Louis, MI) registered a game-best 25 points with nine rebounds and a trio of swipes while freshman Alex Lopez (Springfield, MA/Commerce) pitched in with 12 points, six caroms and five helpers. Senior Kyle Ferreira (Westport, MA) also dished out a game-best seven helpers.
The contest was as close as the box score indicated for much of the game.
In the opening frame, there were six ties and five lead changes. Worcester State maintained the six point margin on a trio of occasion's midway through and again at the 6:33 mark, but MCLA whittled down the advantage with an 11-4 run to close out the period for the 39-37 edge at the intermission.
Hunter netted 21 of his points in the first half and the Trailblazers feasted off their WSU's miscues (12-4).
In the seconds stanza, neither team led by more than four in a back and forth drama until the Blue and Gold emerged with the 63-58 lead with 7:19 remaining.
The visitors then utilized an 8-2 run with lay-ups by four different players for the 65-66 lead 3½ minutes later.
Back-to-back points in the paint by sophomore Charles Gunter (Boston, MA/New Mission) and Hunter helped the Lancers maintain the three point cushion at the 2:48 mark.
Following consecutive free throw makes by both squads over the next 30 seconds of game time, the Trailblazers knotted the score 71-71 on an old-fashioned three-point play by junior Kenny Suggs (Brooklyn, NY) with 1:33 left in regulation.
After the Lancers missed their next attempt from the field, the Trailblazers came right back to score on a nifty bounce pass by Shabazz to Jones for the game-winning basket with 33 ticks remaining.
WSU missed a pair of three pointers in the final minute and junior Ramon Viches (Boston, MA/Malden) canned the last two free throws for the final score.
MCLA held slight the slight edge in points off of turnovers (15-13), offensive boards (16-15) and second-chance points (13-10) while they used 12 steals to create 19 WSU miscues. The visitors also finished with a modest 39 percent sum from the field (27-for-70) and hit 71 percent of their free throws (17-for-24).
Despite the setback the Lancers distributed the ball well (21 assists for 29 field goals) and actually held the 45-42 lead in rebounds. In addition to shooting 43 percent for the contest (29-for-67), the hosts only hit two of their 15 attempts from beyond the arc.
The Trailblazers also registered a season-best nine blocks as a team while Jobst rejected three of WSU's five blocks in the contest.
Both squads will play on the road this Tuesday in 7:30 affairs. Worcester State heads north to take on Fitchburg State while MCLA travels east to play Westfield State.