Western Connecticut Outlasts Men's Basketball, 74-71

Worcester, MA --- Sophomore Luis Bridtter (Stamford, CT) drained a go-ahead three-pointer from the left wing with 19-seconds remaining in the contest and notched a double-double with 13 points and a game-high 14 rebounds (six offensive) to lead Western Connecticut State University over Worcester State University, 74-71, in non-conference action on Thursday night in Lancer Gymnasium.

Trailing by five points (69-64) with 1:56 left to play, the Colonials used a 5-0 run to even the score at 69-69 with a dunk by Bridtter and a three-pointer from freshman Phil Starks (Bloomfield, CT). Starks led all scorers with 26 points on 10-of-18 shooting from the field, 6-of-11 from long distance, five rebounds, two steals and one assist.

After Bridtter canned his three-pointer off of an inbounds pass from senior Shawn Mobilio (Seymour, CT), Bridtter came up with a steal on the defensive end allowing Western Connecticut to get to the free throw line and seal the victory. 

Mobilio converted both his attempts before a layup from Worcester State with two-seconds remaining capped the scoring.

The Lancers carried a 37-30 lead at the break and led by as many as 12 points with 10:45 left on the clock. Worcester State was paced offensively by senior Kyle Ferreira 's (Westport, MA) 16 points (7-of-11 from the floor), three rebounds and one assist.

Freshman Alex Lopez (Springfield, MA) chipped in 12 points, four rebounds and two assists while junior Robert Hunter (St. Louis, MO) contributed ten points, four caroms and two swipes.

Western Connecticut shot 38.2-percent from the field, 41 percent from three-point range and 58 percent at the line. Worcester State went 39 percent from the floor, 0-of-8 from long distance and 81 percent at the charity stripe.

The Colonials outrebounded the hosts, 53-43, including a 26-19 margin on the offensive glass. The Lancers outscored the visitors, 40-30, in the paint and 24-21 off of turnovers.

Ferreira led Worcester State with ten points in the first half going 5-of-7 from the field. The Lancers held an 11-point lead (26-15) at the 5:44 mark as the Blue and Gold answered with a 23-6 run after trailing 9-3 nearly five minutes into action.

Ferreira guided the offensive outburst with six points while junior Jeremy Ross (Holden, MA), freshman Austin Keeler (Holyoke, MA) and Lopez all produced a traditional three-point play, respectively, to highlight the offensive stretch.

The Colonials dwindled their deficit down to seven before intermission as Starks tallied two 3-pointers and a layup during their 15-11 run to close out the half.

Worcester State (4-2) travels to St. John Fisher on Sunday for a non-conference matchup scheduled for 3 PM Western Connecticut (1-6) visits Southern Maine on Saturday at 3 PM in a LEC affair.