Worcester, MA- The Worcester State Lancers (11-7, 5-0 MASCAC) faced off against the MCLA Trailblazers (9-8, 3-2 MASCAC) as the Lancers look to add to their conference winning streak of seventeen.
Today's game marked the team's annual Coaches vs Cancer game. The Coaches vs. Cancer (CvC) program is a nationwide collaboration between the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC). Since 1993, this initiative has leveraged the personal experiences, community leadership, and professional excellence of coaches nationwide to increase cancer awareness and promote healthy living through year-round awareness efforts, fundraising activities, and advocacy programs.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
After the first half, the Lancers found themselves in a 39-32 hole. Plenty of action was seen during the first twenty minutes of play with a majority of the offense coming through senior center Ryan Rubenskas (Bridgewater, MA) who scored 10 points along with three rebounds and one assist. Rubenskas flashed his athleticism, throwing down with one hand near the midpoint of the half.
Coming off the bench, junior guard Suubbi Nkugwa (Chelmsford, MA) provided a spark off of the bench to keep the Lancers within striking distance. Nkugwa scored six points off two threes alongside two rebounds.
The Lancers went into the locker room facing adversity as they found themselves down for the second time at home heading into the half.
Down eight points to start the second half, senior guard Sam Dion (Barre, MA) started the second half draining a three after losing his defender and creating space on a crossover cutting the deficit to five. Dion continued his dominant three-point performance dating back to the last game, knocking down his second three of the half to bring the score to 48-40.
Junior forward Aaron Nkrumah (Worcester, MA) continuing his bid for defensive player of the year ripped the ball away from a Trailblazer recovering the ball on a fast break with no one around him finishing with a fancy one-handed cutting the score to 53-46. Shortly after, Nkrumah received a technical foul with MCLA also receiving one just minutes after as the game intensity picked up during the final stretch.
MCLA continued their dominant shooting performance knocking down 10-27 from downtown (37%), and 33-63 (52.4%) from the field. MCLA senior guard Quentin Gittins (Pittsfield, MA) finished as the game's leading scorer with 25 points along with seven rebounds and two assists. Sophomore guard Craig Williams (Dover, DE) had 17 points and seven rebounds.
Dion and Rubenskas each finished the night tied with 16 points. Junior guard Brandon Goris (Bronx, NY) provided some offense for the Lancers tonight scoring nine points on 4-6 shooting, tallying five assists coming off the bench.
With the loss, the Lancers record drops to (11-8, 5-1 MASCAC) while MCLA improves to (10-8, 4-2 MASCAC).
WHAT'S NEXT:
The Lancers return to action Wednesday, January 31 for their second tilt against the Fitchburg St. Falcons with a scheduled tip-off of 7:30 PM.