WORCESTER, Mass. - The Worcester State University men's basketball team held off a furious second half surge to defeat Westfield State University 84-81 in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference action at John P. Brissette Court.
With the win, the Lancers improve to 5-8 overall on the season and 1-0 in MASCAC play. Westfield drops to 9-6 and 1-1 in the MASCAC.
Worcester State drilled seven first half threes to jump out to an early advantage. The Lancers led by as many as 22 points late in the first half, and headed to the locker room on top by a score of 50-32. Junior Chris Cardoso (Jamaica Plain, Mass.) led all scorers with 17 first half points, shooting 7-for-9 from the floor and hitting both of his three-point attempts.
Westfield State used a 10-0 run early in the second half to make things interesting, cutting Worcester State's lead to 54-50 with just over 15 minutes to play. With five minutes showing on the clock, Westfield State took its first lead since early in the first half on a Jauch Green Jr. old-fashioned three-point play, but Worcester State refused to go down quietly.
A clutch three-pointer by Cardoso tied the score at 75-75 with 2:15 remaining, and moments later, with the Lancers ahead by a point and 27 seconds showing on the clock, senior Cal Howes (Maynard, Mass.) banked in a circus three-pointer as the shot clock was winding down, putting Worcester State ahead 81-77 and all but putting the game on ice. The hosts closed out the contest by making four free throws down the stretch to secure the vital early season conference victory.
Cardoso finished as the game's leading scorer, dropping an impressive 28 points. All five Worcester State starters finished the contest in double figures, with 16 points each from Howes and senior Erik Bjorn (Holden, Mass.), while guards Corey Olivier (Maynard, Mass.) and Tyler Dion (Barre, Mass.) finished with 11 points and 10 points respectively. Bjorn finished with 14 rebounds and Cardoso with 11 to each record double-doubles.
Worcester State will look to continue its winning ways with a road trip to Framingham State on Thursday.
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