Men's Basketball loses MASCAC tilt 83-58 at Westfield State

Courtesy of Westfield State Sports Information

WESTFIELD, Mass.  – Four of the five Westfield State seniors scored in double figures as Westfield blazed past MCLA, 83-58, on Westfield's senior night in a MASCAC men's basketball game at the Woodward Center on Tuesday night.

Westfield improves to 17-6 overall and 10-1 in the MASCAC.  The Owls hold a 1-game edge over Bridgewater in the loss column in the standings and the Owls will need to win on Saturday at Fitchburg to secure the regular season title and the #1 seed in the MASCAC tournament.

Westfield led 35-26 at the half and quickly extended the lead in the second half, running past the Trailblazers to with a 22-6 spurt over the first seven minutes of the half to salt the game away.  Seniors Grant Cooper Northampton HS/Springfield, Mass.), Robbie Jones (Chicopee/Chicopee, Mass.)  and Dan Johnson (Belchertown/Belchertown, Mass.) each had six points in the big Owls scoring burst.

Jones led the Owls with 20 points and made four steals, Cooper added 13 points, a game-high 15 rebounds, six assists, five steals and four blocks. Johnson connected on three of six three-pointers and finished with 11 points.  Classmate Andre King (Suffield Academy/Springfield, Mass.) tallied 11 points and dished out five assists, and Dan Tessier (Uxbridge/Uxbridge, Mass.)  added eight points, three assists and three steals.

MCLA falls to 8-16, and 5-6 in the MASCAC.  The Trailblazers got 13 points from Khalil Paul (Troy/Troy, N.Y.) and Kenny Suggs (Lafayette/Brooklyn, N.Y.) added eight.

Westfield forced MCLA into 25 turnovers as the Owls came up with 20 steals. MCLA shot 0-12 from three point range on the evening.

Westfield will be back in action on Saturday in their final regular season game, traveling to Fitchburg State for a 3:00 p.m. start.

MCLA will play at Salem State on Saturday.