WORCESTER, Mass. – Worcester State graduate student Chris Cardoso (Jamaica Plain, Mass.) scored 25 points and posted a near triple-double as the Lancers defeated MCLA 96-71 in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) men's basketball action on Saturday afternoon at Brissette Court.
The Lancers improve to 7-9 overall and 2-1 in the MASCAC, while MCLA drops their second straight conference game (6-8, 1-2).
Cardoso led all players in scoring and also grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out 7 assists, along with four steals. He was joined in double-figures by Sam Dion (Barre, Mass.), and each of them went 4-6 from behind the three-point line.
Erik Bjorn (Holden, Mass.) had 18 points and 12 rebounds for another double-double, along with handing out four assists of his own.
Worcester never trailed, scoring the first two baskets of the game and then opening up a 13-5 lead when Cardoso hit a three-pointer with 16:25 left in the first half.
MCLA stayed within four points when Dylan Morris-Gray made a layup with six and a half minutes gone, but Worcester responded with a 9-0 run to open up a double-digit advantage that would stretch to as big as 22 when Bjorn made a layup with just under four minutes to play before the break. The Trailblazers pulled to within 15 at the half, but got no closer than that in the final twenty minutes.
Worcester's lead returned to 21 points with a three-pointer by Dion and dipped no lower than 18 over the course of the second half. They stretched it to as much as 30 with an 11-2 run, capped at 6:44 by another triple from Dion, who added three assists, four rebounds and two steals to fill the stat sheet.
Eighteen of Dion's 21 points came in the second half for the Lancers, who owned a decisive 46-26 mark on the glass and held MCLA to just 34% shooting.
MCLA placed four players in double figures led by Noah Yearsley's 15-point night. Morris-Gray and Hayden Bird each ended with 14 points while Reece Racette chipped in with 10.
Otis Wheeler (Worcester, Mass.) led the Worcester State reserves with 8 points on 4-7 shooting, along with six rebounds and two assists. Tayjaun McKenzie (Boston, Mass.) handed out four dimes off the bench in the win.
Worcester State is back in action Monday night at 7:30 PM when they host Salem State in MASCAC action as part of a doubleheader at Brissette Court.
MCLA (6-8, 1-2 MASCAC) hosts Fitchburg State at the same time in North Adams.