WORCESTER, Mass. – The Worcester State University Lancers defeated the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) Trailblazers 77-61 in the opening night of Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) play at the Kneller Athletic Center on the campus of Clark University.
"It is great to start conference play off with a win and take care of our home away from home court," stated head coach Dave Lindberg. With the win, the Lancers advance to 9-5 (1-0 MASCAC) on the season, while the Trailblazers dip to 4-8 (0-1 MASCAC).
Worcester State came out strong in the first half, taking control on both offense and defense. They outscored and outrebounded their opponents – especially in the first 20 minutes of play. "We worked very hard as a group over the last three days to control them on the backboards," said Lindberg. "I was very happy with our effort to get a body on a body and win the battle of the boards."
The game was close at the start, until the Lancers went on a 14-2 run just minutes into the game. With 8:52 remaining in the first half, the Lancers saw their largest lead of the half (15), until the Trailblazers started connecting and cut the lead to seven at intermission.
Over the course of the opening minutes of half number two, the Lancers still led by ten at 46-36 before MCLA made a powerful run with just under 15 minutes remaining. The Trailblazers would embark on a 17-0 run started by a Paul Maurice (Mattapan, Mass.) jumper and when freshman Ki-Shawn Monroe (Springfield, Mass.) connected from deep, MCLA took the lead at 47-46. The run would eventually end, but not until after another Monroe layup and an Isshiah Coleman (Dorchester, Mass.) jam put the Trailblazers up 51-46 with 8:48 remaining forcing a Lancer timeout.
Worcester State's Alex Santos (Lawrence, Mass.) stopped the spurt with a triple and Bilal Shakir (Worcester, Mass.) added another on the next possession giving the Lancers the lead for good. When Skakir converted off a steal with 4:33 left, they led 61-51 and never trailed again.
MCLA would cut it to within six on a pair of occasions, however they were forced to chuck it from deep and the Lancers would convert at the foul line to eventually pull away from MCLA.
"MCLA is a very athletic team that can score in bunches and really hurt on the offensive glass," said Lindberg. "Though, Bilal's defense after our timeout at the eight minute mark really changed our momentum in the game. Our team responded behind him and really controlled the defensive end for the rest of the game."
Shakir ran the offense, scoring a game-high 21 points and tallying four rebounds and five assists. Junior center, Paul Brooks (Arlington, Mass.) scored 18 points for the Lancers, and went a stunning 9-for-10 (90%) from the field. Santos rounded up 12 points for the Lancers, and went a perfect 6-for-6 from the free-throw line.
Junior guard, Marquez McKreith-Collins (Springfield, Mass.) scored 11 points and reached nine rebounds – coming up one short of a double-double. Senior guard, Manny Cabral (Roslindale, Mass.) netted nine points for the Lancers, and went a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line.
Overall as a team, the Lancers shot 41.4% from the field, and 85.7% from the free-throw line.
The Lancers hit the road on Saturday (Jan. 9) to match up with MASCAC opponent, Salem State, for a 3 p.m. start time.
Portions of this Release Courtesy of MCLA Sports Information