Worcester State Men's Basketball Remain Perfect in MASCAC Play

Worcester, MA.  – The Worcester State Men's basketball team outlasted the Fitchburg State Falcons in an overtime battle Wednesday night to remain undefeated in MASCAC play. The Lancers held on down the stretch to come away with the 69-62 victory.

Fitchburg State was quick to get ahead in the game scoring the opening six points of the game before the Lancers were finally able to grab their first basket off a sophomore Ryan Rubenskas (Bridgewater, MA) jump shot. From there the Lancers received additional contributions from graduate student Erik Bjorn (Holden, MA) and sophomore Aaron Nkrumah (Worcester, MA) to close the gap down and start a back-and-forth battle with the Falcons after a mid-half time out provided time for the Lancers to re-group and reset. The remainder of the first half saw a tight contest between the teams as Worcester battled to get ahead of Fitchburg. The Lancers stayed neck-and-neck for most of the first half before heading into the break down 27-21.

Coming out of the intermission the Lancers went on a 13-5 scoring run, again with the aid of Rubenskas' offensive and defensive prowess, who helped push the Lancers into a 34-30 lead with his work on both ends of the court. Worcester State managed to maintain the lead until the final three minutes of the second half, where a late surge by the Falcons gave them a brief lead, 48-47. However, the Lancers' caused a turnover, and a dunk from Rubenskas regained the lead for Worcester State with 2:45 to play. A waning half three pointer by Fitchburg's Frederick Siayor forced the game into extra time as the score now sat at 51 apiece.

Worcester State opened extra time with a 6-0 run including a three-pointer from junior Sam Dion (Barre, MA). Fitchburg's Tajahn Joyner stopped the streak with a jumper at the elbow to make it a 59-55 game with 2:02 to play. The Lancers sealed the victory with free throws from senior Zion Hendrix (Charlotte, NC) and Rubenskas resulting in the 69-62 victory.

Rubenskas led the team with a double-double on the night recording 22 points and 11 rebounds, while Nkrumah added an additional double-double on the day with 20 points and his own 11 rebounds. Worcester State went 20-for-69 from the field and 3-for-16 from the three-point arc.

The Lancers (12-5, 4-0) are back in action on Saturday when they travel out west to take on MCLA for a 12pm start.