Dion Brothers Combine for 54 in Win Over MCLA

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. - Brothers Tyler Dion and Sam Dion (both Barre, Mass.) combined to score 54 points on Saturday afternoon as the Worcester State University men's basketball team knocked off MCLA 96-89 in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference action at the Amsler Campus Center Gymnasium.

With the win, Worcester State improves to 12-11 overall on the season and 8-2 in the MASCAC, sliding into a tie for first place in the conference. MCLA drops to 14-9 and 7-4 in the league.

The opening half was nearly dead even, as the Trailblazers carried a 40-39 lead into the locker room. Tyler Dion led all players with 12 points in the first half, and hit two of Worcester State's seven three-pointers in the period. 

The Lancers were just getting started with their sharpshooting from beyond the arc however, hitting nine more in the second half en route to the victory. Sam Dion was 4-from-6 from distance and had 16 points in the half, while Tyler Dion again led all players with 17 points. Worcester State combined to shoot 63 percent from the field, 64 percent from three, and 93 percent from the charity stripe in the game's final 20 minutes to lock down the victory.

Tyler Dion's 29 points was the game-high, while Sam Dion was close behind with 25. Also in double figures for Worcester State were sophomore Corey Olivier (Maynard, Mass.) with 13 points and junior Erik Bjorn (Holden, Mass.) with 10 points. Quentin Gittens was MCLA's leading scorer with 22 off the bench. 

The 16 made triples in a game matched a program record, set in 2018. The team also broke the program record for three pointers in a season on the day, eclipsing the previous mark of 207 in the 2015-16 season. Worcester State has knocked down 212 three-point attempts this season.

Worcester State will return to the hardwood on Wednesday night, hosting Fitchburg State for Senior Night at John P. Brissette Court.

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