WESTFIELD, Mass. –   Westfield State junior forward Jauch Green, Jr. (Cromwell HS/Hartford, Conn) scored 34 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead Westfield State to an 89-85 win over Worcester State in the final MASCAC regular-season game for both teams at the Woodward Center on Saturday afternoon.

Westfield improves to 15-10 overall and is 8-4 in the MASCAC. The Owls secure the number 2 seed in the conference tournament and earn a first-round bye, and will host an opponent to be determined on Thursday, February 21 in the semifinals.

Worcester drops to 11-14 overall and 4-8 in the MASCAC and winds up as the sixth seed in the league tournament and will play on the road at Fitchburg State on Tuesday.

Westfield got off to a rocky start, and trailed by as many as 14 points in the first half, before chipping away late in the half to trail the Lancers 38-34 at the break.

The Owls finally grabbed their first lead, 41-40 on a Christopher Prophet three pointer with 16 minutes to play, then grabbed the lead for good with a Justin Rennis (Sabis/Springfield, Mass.) layup with just over 10 minutes left in the game, 55-53.

The Owls led by as many as 10 with 3:39 to play, but the Lancers had one charge left, trimming the lead down to two, 87-85 on a Chris Cardoso (Natick/Jamaica Plain, Mass.) free throw with 14 seconds left, but Green iced a pair of late free throws to give Westfield the final margin.

Sophomore guard Christopher Prophet (Central/Springfield, Mass.) finished with 19 points and dished out eight assists for the Owls, and Marcus Collins (Ringde and Latin/Cambridge, Mass.) added 15 points and nine caroms.

The Lancers got 33 points from Cardoso, who finished 10-14 shooting and 4-7 from three point range.   Frantz Francois (Boston English/Boston, Mass.) added 10 points and 13 rebounds, and Emeka Egwatu (Abby Kelley/Worcester, Mass.) added 14 points off the bench.

#LancerNation

Release Courtesy of Westfield State Sports Information