Worcester, Mass. - Brissette Court was lit up Sunday afternoon as the Worcester State Lancers and the Westfield Owls clashed in the 2023 MASCAC Men's Basketball Championship. Tournament MVP graduate student Erik Bjorn (Holden, MA) grabbed 24 rebounds to lead Worcester State to their first MASCAC Championship since 1994.
FINAL SCORE: Worcester 65, Westfield 53
It was a slow offensive start on both ends as the game remained 8-6 through the opening nine minutes of action on Brissette Court. Each team was struggling to find their offensive rhythm early in the half as they adjusted to the high intensity of the game. The Owls were quick to jump out to a five point lead after an early timeout from the Lancers was called to help settle the team that had already accumulated five turnovers in the opening 10 minutes. The Owls worked to capitalize off the stagnant start form the Lancers but two missed layup opportunities from senior Kumar Brown (Enfield, CT) and senior Brendon Hamilton (Worcester, MA) provided the Lancers a chance to build their way back into the action. A sophomore Aaron Nkrumah (Worcester, MA) three pointer cut the lead to just two and one of Bjorns 24 rebounds on the night led to a quick senior Tayjaun McKenzie (Boston, MA) three pointer that pushed Worcester State ahead 12-11.
The lead would continue to change possession over the next two minutes as Hamilton was quick to put the Owls back in the lead. The Lancers would reclaim the lead with eight and half minutes remaining in the first half, building it up to a five point differential. Westfield's junior Gerry McManus (Hudson, MA) and senior JT Thompson (Columbia, SC) would work in effort to keep the game within reach for the Owls as they headed into halftime, but a burst of three pointers by the Lancers would see the lead extend to 11 points before the break in play.
Worcester State came out hot to start the second half, continuing their three pointer spree as junior Sam Dion (Barre, MA) sank a deep three off a crisp pass from Bjorn to push the lead to 16 before a timeout a minute and a half in by the Owls changed the pass of play. Some tactical restructuring by Westfield saw them stemmy the offensive success of the Lancers. A three-pointer by junior Deajon Pendleton (Haverhill, MA) began the wave of attack by the Owls that would keep them within 13 points for much of the second half. Thompson took over the attack for the Owls in the second half, scoring 22 of his 29 points in the second half to keep the Owls on the Lancers heels. A foul by Dion with five minutes remaining brought Thompson to the line sinking 2-3 free throws, going for 6-11 on the afternoon, to close the gap to 11.
Westfield went full throttle in the final minutes nailing a quick three from senior Brendan Keveny (Quincy, MA) and Thompson working the outer arc to close the gap to just seven points with just under two minutes in the game. The intensity of the final two minutes could be felt in the gym as Westfield looked to repeat as MASCAC Champions and defeat the Lancers for their third straight MASCAC Championship. Rebounding became the key to the game in the final minutes as the Lancers snagged all the remaining rebounds in the game to prevent second chance opportunities for the Owls, while layups by Dion and Bjorn pushed the lead back to 10.Senior Zion Hendrix (Charlotte, NC) sealed the victory for the Lancers with a pair of free throws to extend the lead to 12. A last chance three by Keaveny was rebounded by Nkrumah to seal the 65-53 victory and the MASCAC Championship for the Lancers.
The Lancers outrebounded the Owls 57-30, including 22 offensive rebounds that they turned into 31 points. Worcester was 10-29 (.345) from behind the arc, while Westfield shot 32.2 percent from the floor (19-59).
The Owls were led by the 29 points of Thompson, while Brown recorded 12 rebounds in the game. Hendirx led the Lancers with 16 points while Bjorn recorded not only a season high 24 rebounds but now has a career 1,009 rebounds to go along with his 1, 068 career points.
Westfield ends their season at 12-16 (8-4) in the MASCAC, while the Lancers move to 22-5 (12-0) and remain undefeated in the MASCAC. With the win Worcester State earns the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament. Bids will be announced on Monday at 1pm by the NCAA.