Men's Basketball Claims 67-58 Victory Over Framingham State

MASCAC Men's Basketball Tournament Bracket

Framingham, MA --- Freshman Paul Brooks (Arlington, MA) led the team in scoring for the second-consecutive game, finishing with 16 points, three boards and five blocks to help pace Worcester State to a 67-58 victory over Framingham State in MASCAC men's basketball action this afternoon.

The Lancers finish the regular season at 11-13 and 8-4 in the MASCAC while the Rams dip to 8-17 and 2-10 in conference play.

The two squads will square off again on Tuesday evening at Assumption in the quarterfinal round of the league tournament with the Blue and Gold claiming the third seed in the MASCAC playoffs.

WSU was also led by senior Dane Jobst (Athol, MA) who logged his 17th double-double in 24 games while first-year Noris Cuevas-Nova (Amherst, MA) chipped in with 10 points and seven rebounds.

Brook was 8-for-14 from the floor and helped the Lancers shoot 47 percent for the contest (26-for-55).

Framingham State was led by freshman Charles Collins (Lynn, MA) who netted a season-best 26 points off a 10-for-16 line from the field. Junior Patrick Cuff (Medway, MA) also registered seven points, six caroms and a pair of rejections.

Following a wild opening stanza that included seven ties and six lead changes, the Lancers utilized free throws by Jobst and Cuevas-Nova for the 35-33 score at the intermission.

The Lancers started off the second half by outscoring their opponents 13-7 over the first six minutes of the period before the Rams soon trimmed it five quick points for the 50-44 margin near the midway point.

Worcester State, however, opened up the game with a 10-3 spurt over the next six minutes to open up a 60-47 advantage at the 4:27 mark.

With the largest lead of the contest for the Blue and Gold at 64-49 as 3:12 read on the scoreboard, Framingham State climbed back into the game with a 9-0 run to threaten with 66 ticks left in regulation (64-58).

The Lancers, however, received a back-end of a bonus try by sophomore Manny Cabral (Roslindale, MA) and two from the line by junior Brendan Rios (Northampton, MA) to seal up the win. The Rams also missed a trio of attempts and multiple lay-ups in the waning moments of the contest.

Worcester State nearly doubled up their opponents in rebounding (56-32) and points in the paint (42-24), but were plagued by 26 turnovers. The Rams took full advantage and held a 24-11 margin in baskets off of turnovers and actually led in second chance points (10-9).

WSU only hit three of their 17 attempts from downtown and missed 12 free throws (12-for-24). FSU only rang in a trio of their 17 bids from beyond the arc while also failing to convert nine chances at the charity stripe (11-for-20 – 55 percent).

The hosts shot 31 percent for the game (22-for-71) and 24 percent in the second half alone (8-for-34).

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