Worcester, MA- Worcester State was back in action on Friday night after a first round bye in the MASCAC playoffs. Fitchburg, the number five seed upset four seed Salem State to advance to the MASCAC Semifinal matchup. In the semifinals matchup of the Massachusetts Collegiate Athletic Conference, the #1 seed Worcester State Lancers tipped off against the #5 Fitchburg Falcons at 7:30 pm at John P. Brissette gym in Worcester, MA. 

The crowd was out in full force for the playoff matchup creating an instant intensity in the gym.  After the first half, the score was 38-26 Lancers. The game started off fast from the tip as the Lancers marched down with an emphatic dunk that led to a technical foul. The Falcons kept pace with the Lancers throughout the first half keeping the game relatively close and low scoring with the help of some superb defense on both ends of the court and wise tactical coaching decisions coming from the bench. Things did not begin to open up for either team until about halfway through the first half as the score stayed stagnant with only four points separating the Falcons from the Lancers. A crisp layup from Worcester's senior Tayjaun McKenzie (Boston, MA) began a brief spurt of action that saw the Lancers outpace the Falcons 11-5 in scoring and build the Lancers first double digit lead of the half with just six minutes to go. The Falcons would work to close the gap back up with a layup from junior Quincy Taylor (Boston, MA) and a deep three pointer from sophomore Matthew Tanis (Hialeah, FL) to bring the game to within six for Fitchburg. The remainder of the half would see the Lancer and Falcons going basket for basket to close out the first half with Worcester leading by a hard one 12 points. Worcester State's Aaron Nkrumah (Worcester, MA) led all scorers with 10 points in the first half. Tanis led Fitchburg State scorers with 9 points in the first half.

Worcester State started the second half quickly with a barrage of three pointers and a fast pace transition offense. The Falcons defense held the Lancers to 36 points in the second half which was an improvement from the first halfs 38 points. A perfect three by junior Ryan Rubenskas (Bridgewater, MA) three minutes into the half set the tone for the Lancers in the remaining 17 minutes of play as their lead jumped to 14 points and would continue to stretch to 18 points with just under 15 minutes in the game to go before the Falcons were able to recover some offensive force. A three pointer from senior Tajahn Joyner (Amherst, MA) looked to be putting the Falcons back on track with just under 10 minutes to go as they worked to overcome the 20 point lead the Lancers had accrued. Looking for another upset victory in the final moments, Fitch burg worked to keep base with Worcester and close the gap down to just 16 points with three minutes remaining, but late foul trouble for both teams slowed the play down and allowed the Lancers to clinch the victory and a repeat trip to the MASCAC Championship. The Falcons outshot the Lancers in the second half from the three with 44% shooting. Worcester allowed 26 points in the first half compared to 30 points in the second half, however they dominated the paint 42-26.

Rubenskas led all scorers with 22 points off of 50% shooting from the field (8-16). Teammate graduate student Erik Bjorn (Holden, MA) was a force on the boards as Bjorn had 10 rebounds, to go along with Rubenskas' 8. Tanis finished the game leading the Falcons with 17 points off of 6-15 from the field. Taylor led the Falcons on the boards with 9 rebounds. Joyner (Amherst, MA) would complete the game with a team high 3 steals.   

Fitchburg State finishes their season 10-16, 4-8 in conference play. They upset #4 seed Salem State to advance to the semifinals. Worcester State's season continues as their record goes to 21-5, 12-0 in conference play as they move onto the championship game against Westfield State. The championship game will be at 4 pm, Sunday February 26th at John P. Brisette gym. This game will see a repeat of the 2022 and 2020 MASCAC Championship that Westfield State hosted and defeated the Lancers, this time home court will be switched into Worcester's hands.