Trailblazers beaten by rival Westfield State 83-60

Westfield, MA- Grant Cooper tallied 26 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists in leading the Westfield State Owls to a convincing 83-60 win over the MCLA Trailblazers in MASCAC Men's Basketball action.  With the win, the Owls improve to 9-8 and sit at 2-3 in MASCAC play.  The Trailblazers fall to 4-13 and just 1-4 in the conference.

MCLA was held to just four field goals in the opening half after shooting just 15% (4-26).  Westfield led 16-12 after Jeremic Bennett knocked down two free throws for MCLA with 9:15 remaining.  The Owls would hold the Trailblazers to just six points over the final nine minutes, while MCLA did not convert a field in the final 8:24 of the half. 

Westfield led by as many as 19 points on two occasions, the last of which came after Cooper drove the lane on the final possession making it 37-18 in favor of the Owls.  MCLA committed 12 turnovers in the opening half on top of the poor shooting percentage.  Cooper almost outscored MCLA on his own notching 17 first half points.

MCLA never got closer than 18 points in the second half.  The Owls led by as many as 32 points as they pulled away from MCLA. 

Cooper was outstanding as he was 9-11 from the floor.  Dan Tessier added 15 points while Dan Johnson finished with 10.  Robby Jones also finished with 10 points.

MCLA was paced by John Jones' 24 points, many of which came late in the contest.  He was the only Trailblazer in double figures.

The Trailblazers finished the game shooting just 33% while the Owls torched the Trailblazer defense, shooting at a 52% clip.  MCLA also turned the ball over 28 times compared to just 12 for the Owls.

MCLA will travel to Salem State on Tuesday.