Fitchburg, MA --- First-year Alex Lopez (Springfield, MA/Commerce) tallied a game-best 20 points and he sank the game-winning lay-up with nine seconds left as he propelled Worcester State to a comeback win over Fitchburg State in MASCAC men's basketball action this evening.
The Lancers (8-7, 2-2 MASCAC) were also paced by junior Robert Hunter (St. Louis, MI) registered 18 points and eight boards as freshman Austin Keeler (Holyoke, MA) had a breakout game with 16 points.
Third-year Dane Jobst (Athol, MA) was also solid with a game-best 12 rebounds in the win for WSU.
The Falcons (8-5, 1-2 MASCAC) were led by senior Brendan Selby (Baltimore, MD) tallied 18 points while classmate Tom Henneberry (Lexington, MA) added 12 points with nine boards. Fourth-year Jeremy Kimber (Fitchburg, MA) and junior Mike Ingraham-Rubin (Boston, MA/Bedford) chipped in with 11 points each.
Senior Zach Valliere (Douglas, MA) did a little bit of everything for the hosts with nine rebounds, six points and five blocks.
Worcester State erased what was a 13 point deficit early in the second half (49-36) and equaled the score 65-65 with 2:26 remaining.
Keeler was the hero as he sparked the rally with a three-pointer at the 15:28 mark and he netted 13 points of their 29 points to help the Lancers tie the score.
Selby put the hosts up by two with a lay-up before Hunter converted a traditional three-point play to put the Blue and Gold up 68-67 with 1:15 remaining in regulation.
Ingraham-Rubin then hit the front-end of a bonus opportunity to equal the score 68-68 and then he missed the second attempt. On the ensuing possession, Ingraham-Rubin helped create a Lancer miscue with a steal, but the Falcons rimmed a jumper with 19 seconds left.
That set the stage for Lopez to hit the game-winner as Keeler gave WSU some insurance for what proved to be the final score.
Worcester State originally led 21-10 with 9:37 to go in the opening frame, but the Falcons closed out the half with a 25-9 skein for the 35-32 advantage at the break.
Fitchburg State picked up right where they left off with a 12-4 surge to open up a 49-36 advantage with 16:08 left in regulation.
The Lancers used a 48 percent effort from the field (14-for-37) in the second half to finish with a final line of 37 percent for the contest (25-for-68).
WSU canned 85 percent of their free throws (19-for-21) while they dominated the paint (40-28), rebounding margin (48-40), led in points off turnovers (16-13) and second-chance points (19-14).
Fitchburg State also was solid in the final stanza (13-for-26) from the floor, but for the game they only hit seven of third 26 bids from downtown (27 percent).
Both teams will travel on Thursday to MASCAC opponents for 7:30 games. Worcester State heads to conference rival Bridgewater State and Fitchburg State heads to Salem State.