Men’s Basketball Concludes 2017-18 Season with 97-92 Loss to Westfield State

WORCESTER, Mass. – Westfield State University's Marcus Collins (Cambridge, Mass.) recorded a double-double of 27 points and 12 rebounds to help the visiting Owls to a 97-92 victory over the Lancers of Worcester State University Saturday afternoon in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) matchup.  

THE BASICS

February 17, 2018

Lancer Gymnasium

Score: Westfield State 97, Worcester State 92

Records: Westfield State (11-14, 5-7 MASCAC) | Worcester State (3-22, 2-10 MASCAC)

1^ST HALF

Westfield opened the game with an 8-0 run until Worcester State's Shaun McCarthy (Oxford, Mass.) made a layup to break the Lancers' board. Westfield State's Anthony Reynolds (Springfield, Mass.) responded with seven consecutive points to give the visitors a 13-point advantage (15-2). With 12:27 on the clock, Worcester State's Chris Cardoso (Jamaica Plains, Mass.) ignited a 12-2 run with a triple, which made it a 3-point game with 8:14 on the clock. The teams battled until Westfield's Austin Joseph (Rockland, Mass.) made a trey with 5:39 on the clock, leading to a 7-0 run for the Owls. Westfield State went into the intermission ahead 50-39 succeeding a Will Watkins Jr. (Southbridge, Mass.) three with a second on the clock.

2^ND HALF

Westfield State maintained a 10+ lead until Worcester State's Cal Howes (Maynard, Mass.) made back-to-back three's to cut the Owls' lead to seven (59-52) with 15:52 on the clock. Worcester State chipped away at the Owls lead and got within six twice, once with a Cardoso free throw (66-60), and another after a Watkins jumper (68-62). The Owls pushed their lead back to 10 with 11:20 on the clock with a Moody Bey (Springfield, Mass.) free throw. A McCarthy and-one got the Lancers within 10 once again and did not allow the Owls to attain a greater lead than that again until there as 6:50 remaining on the clock, forcing a Worcester timeout. Out of the timeout, Worcester State put up eight consecutive points to make it a 2-point game with 4:52 to go. A Watkins three with 4:16 on the clock made it a 1-point game. With 2:03 remaining in the game, Worcester State's Howes stole the ball and rifled the ball up the court for Cardoso to dunk and knot the score at 92-92. Worcester State struggled to score and Westfield State went 5-for-6 on free throws over the next two minutes, leaving the Lancers behind, 97-92.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• In addition to Collins' double-double (27 points, 12 rebounds), Reynolds also posted double-double figures of 17 points and 14 rebounds (7 offensive).
• Bey and Peter Mafo (Lynn, Mass.) also put up double figures with 14 and 13 points, respectively.
• Bey and Joseph each had four steals in the win.
• Worcester State's offense was led by Watkins who had 26 points, going 8-for-17 from the field and 5-for-11 from beyond the arc.
• McCarthy put up 23 points and eight rebound with three assists and a steal.
• Howes added in 17 points with seven rebounds, three assists, and two steals, while Cardoso recorded up 14 points and six assists.
• Worcester State shot 47.8% from the field (32-67), 33.3% from 3-point range (9-27, and 82.6% from the charity stripe (19-23).
• Westfield went 30-80 (37.5%) from the field and 7-for-23 (30.4%) from beyond the arc.
• Westfield State scored 28 points off the Lancers' 23 turnovers.
• The Owls outrebounded Worcester State, 54-39.

UP NEXT

Westfield State earns the #5 seed in the MASCAC tournament and will open with the first round of the league tournament on Tuesday (Feb. 20), as they travel to #4 Fitchburg State for a 7 p.m. game. The Lancers' season comes to an end with a 3-22 overall record and a 2-10 league record.

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