Worcester, MA- The Worcester State Lancers (3-3, 0-0 MASCAC) traveled to Connecticut where they tipped off against the Wesleyan Cardinals (4-1, 0-0 NESCAC).
FINAL:
Wesleyan: 79
Lancers: 69
RECAP:
The game started slowly for the Lancers as the team found themselves down 33-8 within the first twelve minutes of the game. Wesleyan played smothering defense out of the jump to effectively shut down Worcester's offense, forcing 11 turnovers in the first half.
Worcester State rallied in the last eight minutes of the half to cut the deficit to 44-26. Graduate student point guard Zion Hendrix (Charlotte, NC) and senior forward Ryan Rubenskas (Bridgewater, MA) finished the half tied for the lead in Lancer points scored. Rubenskas added five rebounds as well.
Wesleyans junior guard Nicky Johnson (Lexington, MA) and first-year teammate guard Ben Lyttle (New Rochelle, N.Y.) finished the half with ten points. Johnson racked up points on 5-10 (50%) from the field as well as five assists and four rebounds.
END FIRST HALF: WESLEYAN 44 LANCERS 26
The start of the second half was the exact opposite for the Lancers compared to the first. Worcester dominated the first three minutes forcing turnovers and scoring at will. The score was cut to 50-42 after junior forward Aaron Nkrumah (Worcester, MA) found fire, swishing two threes with a two-pointer added. The Lancers were down only seven points after being down 28 at one point in their dominating run.
The lead was eventually cut to four with 11:28 remaining. The Cardinals went on a run of their own to increase their lead to 11, but Worcester fought through adversity as the team stayed focused, chipping away at the lead and eventually finding Hendrix who nailed a three to cut the lead down to four again with roughly four minutes remaining.
A back-and-forth battle ensued once again as Wesleyan pulled away for a chunk of time. The resilience of the Lancers kicked in as they cut the deficit once again to four, but the 28-point lead proved too much, as the Cardinals finished off any more attempts locking up the game and victory.
Nkrumah led all Lancer scorers with 21 points, behind him finished Hedrix who had 17 on the night. Rubenskas ended the night with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Wesleyan's Ben Lyttle was the night's high scorer as he dropped 23 points along with six rebounds. Nicky Johnson finished with 15 points, 10 assists, and seven rebounds.
With the loss, the Lancers record drops to (3-4, 0-0 MASCAC) while Wesleyan improves to (5-1, 0-0 NESCAC).
The next game for the Lancers will be Saturday, December 2nd at 2 p.m. vs. the Emerson Lions (2-4, 0-0 NEWMAC) for a home game at Brissette Competition Court. The game will be available to watch on wsulancers.com or MASCAC.tv.