Ten Worcester State Standouts Inducted Into New England Basketball Hall Of Fame

Pictured Right - Left: Laner Hall of Famer Art Gazal | Right: Lancer Hall of Famer Renee Marcotte

Worcester, MA --- Eight Worcester State men’s and women’s basketball alumni, one male alum a former head coach were recently inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday, June 22 at the DCU Center in downtown Worcester.

Former men’s basketball players included Gerald Hippert ’67, Ron Dunham ’70, Art Gazal ’73, Mark Epstein ’75, Fran Incutto ’78 and Sonny Price while the women’s inductees were Sandra Nelson ’72, Renee Marcotte ’99 and Sacha Ashton.

Current Quinnipiac head coach Tom Moore, who posted a combined mark of 76-59 (.562) from 1989-94 and helped guide the Lancers to both the 1993-94 MASCAC Tournament Championship and the 1994 NCAA Division III Tournament, was also enshrined.

More than 1,800 people attended the event, which included long-time Globe columnist Bob Ryan, author Harlan Coben and Kentucky head coach John Calipari as guest speakers during the banquet.  Approximately 300 inductees and six teams were honored for their contributions in each of the 30 categories.

Hippert received the nod to the New England Basketball Hall of Fame in the Officials Category for his outstanding contributions as an IAABO Official for 43 years of service. Hippert’s brother Ed Hippert helped pilot the Blue and Gold to their other NCAA Tournament appearance in 1976-77.

Sonny Price

Dunham was honored the Ronald S. Perry Category For Distinguished Achievement In Two Or More Categories.

Dunham was a New England State College All-Star in 1969-70 as a student-athlete and he wrapped up his four seasons 14th on WSU’s all-time scoring list with 1,126 points (15.6 PPG). Dunham was also an extremely successful coach at Millbury High and Acton-Boxboro High, earning Massachusetts State Basketball Hall of Fame accolades in 2005.

In the Collegiate Category, Gazal and Price both received nods to the New England Basketball Hall of Fame for their impact on the Worcester State men’s basketball program.

From 1969-73, Gazal was a two-time All-New England honoree and he netted a 1,186 points for an average of 16.0 points per game – 13th on WSU’s all-time scoring list.

Price was spectacular in his three seasons with the second-best average for career points (22.9 PPG), totaling 1,308 points from 1972-75 which is 12th all-time. Price also scored 533 points during the 1973-74 season to help the Lancers reach their first national tournament berth in the NAIA Tournament.

Ashton and Marcotte were also distinguished in the Collegiate Women’s Category.

Marcotte earned a pair of All-MASCAC First-team distinctions and All-Northeast Region honors in her senior year for her efforts from 1995-99 on the women’s basketball team. Marcotte wrapped up her career ninth on the all-time scoring list (1,167 points) and second on the all-time rebounding index (908 rebounds – 9.0 RPG).

Sascha Ashton

Ashton also ended her career with 1,032 points and is ranked second in career steals (242) while she is first with a remarkable average of 2.8 steals in 87 contests. Ashton was the 1999-00 MASCAC Player of the Year and an Honorable Mention NCAA Division III All-American for her efforts in leading the Lancers to the MASCAC Tournament Championship game that season.

Other High School Coach inductees included Incutto and Nelson.

Incutto, who did not play on the mens' basketball team as a Lancer, found success on the local high school scene following his graduation from Worcester State. Incutto won 486 boys basketball games over a span of 36 years at Worcester Vocational, Worcester Industrial Tech, Holy Name, St. Peter-Marian and Burncoat before retiring in 2009.

Nelson earned over 450 victories between stops as the head girl’s basketball coach at Leicester High (1974-90) and David Prouty (1991-2009). Nelson was among the first women’s basketball participants when the program was first started in 1967-68 and she was the team captain for the 1970-71 Mass State College Champions in her senior year.

In the Semi-Professional Category, Epstein, his brother and father earned recognition in the New England Basketball Hall of Fame as apart of the Charlie’s Surplus Store that competed and partially organized the Crompton Park Summer Basketball League.

Epstein’s teams won seven titles in a 15-year span and the Crompton Summer Basketball League jump-started the careers of 20 future NBA and ABA players. Numerous others who played for the Charlie’s Surplus team went on to star or compete at NCAA Division I, II and III institutions – including five former Worcester State student-athletes, most notably Gazal.

Nelson, Gazal, Dunham and Marcotte are also members of the Lancer Hall of Fame for their respective contributions to the Worcester State men’s and women’s basketball programs.

Prior to this year’s New England Basketball Hall of Fame, Worcester State had six previous inductees that received honors in each of the five classes. The 1979-80 AIAW National Championship team was distinguished in the inaugural class in 2003.

New England Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2013

Pictured Below: 1993-94 MASCAC Men's Basketball Tournament Champions/1994 NCAA Division III Tournament Participants