WESTFIELD, Mass. -- Missing several of their top scorers, the Worcester State men's basketball team suffered an 89-65 defeat to Westfield State in their Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) opener on Saturday afternoon at Woodward Center.
The Owls improve to 12-3 on the season, 2-1 in the MASCAC, while the Lancers fall to 5-9 overall and 0-1 in conference.
Nathan Bangandozou (Wrocester, Mass.) led the Lancers with 14 points off the bench, while Tyler Spencer (Pembroke, Mass.) and Sam Dion (Barre, Mass.) were both in double figures as well.
Brendon Hamilton (Worcester, Mass.) had a big day for Westfield with 22 points and 21 rebounds. He added five blocked shots, three steals and two assists.
The Owls took the lead for good four minutes into the contest on a Jeremy Remigio (Santo Domingo, DR) transition layup. From there Westfield added on, holding a 42-29 advantage at half.
The Lancers came out of the break hot, scoring nine points in the first minute and a half. Two free throws for Spencer, followed by a pair of Ryan Rubenskas (Bridgewater, Mass.) layups and a Bangandozou three- pointer trimmed the lead to five (43-38) and forced an Owl timeout.
The Owls, however, went on a 19-0 run over the next six minutes to extend the lead (62-38) and regain control.
Rubenskas had 8 points and a team-high 10 rebounds. Daniel Liberatore () added nine points and Chris Pierre () pulled down five rebounds with two assists and a steal.
Westfield State had three players join Hamilton with double- digit points. JT Thompson (Columbia S.C./ Dutch Fork) finished with 14, Kuany Teng (Manchester, N.H./ Bradford Christian Academy) and Meesha Ohradka (Feeding Hills, Mass./ Agawam) each had 13.
Spencer scored 11 points and Dion finished with 10 for the Lancers. Rubenskas also blocked five shots in the setback.
The Owls held a 20-5 advantage in second chance points and a 30-9 edge in points off turnovers.
Westfield State will host the make- up of a postponed game with MCLA on Monday, Jan. 17 at 5:30 p.m. Worcester State will take on Fitchburg State in a home contest on Wednesday, Jan. 19 at 7:30 p.m.