Lancers Can’t Put Away Ephs in Williamstown

WILLIAMSTOWN, MASS. – For the second straight game, the Worcester State men's basketball team played an undefeated NESCAC foe close, but couldn't quite steal a victory on the road.

Sam Dion (Barre, Mass.) scored 17 points but the Lancers fell to Williams College 70-57 on Thursday night at Chandler Gym.

Worcester State falls to 4-6 on the year, while the Ephs, receiving votes in the most recent D3hoops Top 25 poll, improve to 6-0 on the season.

The Lancers were within two points with under ten minutes to play after an Otis Wheeler (Worcester, Mass.) layup made it 49-47. Leading 54-50, Williams answered with a 7-0 run to push their advantage back to double-digits and secure the win.

Williams started the game on a 10-2 run and led by as many as 17 at one point, but an 8-0 spurt to finish the half for the Lancers had them down just 7 at the break, 34-27.

Dion's 17 points came off the bench, where Wheeler added 10 points as the Lancers had a 30-17 edge in points of the bench.

Marcus McCarthy (E. Providence, R.I.) had 11 points and a team-high 7 rebounds. Ryan Rubenskas (Bridgewater, Mass.) added eight points and two assists, a block and a steal.

The Ephs had four players reach double digit scoring. Leading the way was sophomore Nate Karren with 13 points and 8 rebounds. Cole Prowitt-Smith scored 12, going a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line along the way. Senior Jovan Jones and first-year Declan Porter scored 11 and 10 respectively.

Williams led 46-30 in rebounding and 32-22 in points in the paint.

Worcester State is home on Saturday afternoon for a 12:00 pm showdown with cross-town rivals WPI. The Engineers won the first meting of the year between the teams, 88-64, in the season opener for both sides.