Greenberg leads MCLA past Westfield 55-51

Westfield, MA- MCLA's Jon Greenberg (Antwerp, Belgium) tallied 19 points and 17 rebounds in leading the Trailblazers past Westfield 55-51.  Greenberg, who is leading the conference in rebounding, notched his 15th double double of the season.  With the win, MCLA improves to 9-12 overall, 3-6 in the MASCAC.  Westfield drops to 9-14 and 2-8.

MCLA pulled out the road victory despite only shooting 29 percent (20-for-68) from the field and 55 percent (15-for-27) from the foul line. A big key was MCLA's dominance on the glass as it out-rebounded Westfield, 56-37, including 26 offensive rebounds.

The Owls - who shot 45 percent from the field in the first half - jumped out to an early 11-point lead (18-7), but the Trailblazers chipped away and closed to with four, 30-26, at halftime.

Westfield shot a dismal 26 percent (8 for 30) in the second half but still had a chance to claim a victory. But Greenberg came thru in the closing minutes for MCLA.

With Westfield only scoring seven points in the opening 12 minutes of the second half, MCLA took a 39-37 lead with 8:36 remaining.

The Trailblazers took their biggest lead, 45-40, on two free throws from Chris Harris at the 6:35 mark. Westfield regrouped to tie the score at 49-all with 2:09 remaining on a lay-in by Matt Devine.

Greenberg made a free throw with 1:43 remaining, missed the second free throw, and MCLA followed with two offensive rebounds. Greenberg then converted a layup following a timeout for a 52-49 MCLA lead with 53 seconds remaining.

Westfield missed a field goal attempt and Greenberg made another free throw. Westfield's Chris Jurkowski canned two free throws for a 53-51 MCLA lead with 17 seconds left. But MCLA guard Mike Perreault sealed the victory with two free throws at the 11-second mark.

Harris had 13 points and eight rebounds and E'lon Julien posted a double-double with 10 points and 10 boards; he also had four steals.

Devine was Westfield's only player in double figures with 19 points. The 6-6 freshman center also had seven rebounds and five blocked shots.