Men’s Basketball Tops Westfield State for First MASCAC Win of Season, 90-82

WESTFIELD, Mass. – The Worcester State University men's basketball team snapped out of a 10-game losing streak by defeating the Owls of Westfield State Thursday evening to earn their first Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) win of the season.

THE BASICS

January 25, 2018

Woodward Center

Score: Worcester State 90, Westfield State 82

Records: Worcester State (2-17, 1-5 MASCAC) | Westfield State (9-10, 3-3 MASCAC)

1^ST HALF

Westfield State attained the first lead of the game with an Austin Joseph (Rockland, Mass.) trey. The Lancers tied the game at 5-5 two minutes later when Will Watkins Jr. (Southbridge, Mass.) connected on a triple. Westfield State took back the lead and did not allow the Lancers a chance to go ahead until there was 11 minutes left on the clock. Shaun McCarthy (Oxford, Mass.) ignited a 10-2 run to put the Lancers ahead by a slim margin.  Worcester State started seeing three's from Bryson Gulley (Mattapan, Mass.) Watkins and Cal Howes (Maynard, Mass.) along with points in the paint from McCarthy with under 10 minutes to go and extended its lead to 16 with 2:03 to go in the first. Westfield ended the half with an 8-1 run to cut the gap to nine (44-35).

2^ND HALF

Peter Mafo (Lynn, Mass.) and Joseph held the Owls get back within two just three minutes into the second frame. Worcester State would hold a slight lead until Joseph made a triple with 15:20 on the clock to tie the score at 49-49. Westfield State notched their first lead of the second half when Mafo made a layup with 14:47 on the clock. The Owls added to the lead, but Worcester State rallied back and took the lead with just under 10 minutes to go on a pair of free throws from Chris Cardoso (Jamaica Plains, Mass.). The teams went back-and-forth, but Worcester State took its last lead of the game with 2:57 on the clock from a Watkins triple. McCarthy drained a pair of free throws, Cardoso added another freebie in the mix, and Watkins hit another three to give the Lancers a 7-point lead with 1:40 to go. Westfield State attempted a comeback, but Worcester State's free throw shooters were on target and the Blue and Gold sealed the 90-82 win. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Worcester State's McCarthy led with 27 points, going 10-for-13 (76.9%) from the field. He also collected four rebounds and three assists in the win.
• Watkins was one rebound shy of a double-double, putting up 22 points, including four 3-pointers, and collected nine boards. He also chipped in three assists on the evening.
• Gulley and Howes logged 15 and 11 points, respectively.
• Emeka Eguatu (Worcester, Mass.) recorded six boards and four blocks defensively.
• Westfield State was led by double-double efforts from Moody Bey (Springfield, Mass.) who had 21 points and 10 boards. Mafo registered 20 points, and Joseph put up 14 with a game-high seven assists.
• Marcus Collins (Cambridge, Mass.) led in the rebounding category, with a game-high 22 on the night.
• Worcester State shot 50% (30-60) from the field and 37.5% (9-24) from 3-point range.
• The Owls were held to just 33.7% (28-83) shooting from the field and shot under 30% from beyond the arc.
• Westfield State outrebounded Worcester State 53-39.
• The game saw six ties and nine lead changes.

UP NEXT

The Worcester State men's basketball team travels to Salem State on Saturday (Jan. 27) to matchup with the Vikings in a 3 p.m. game.

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