Men's Basketball tripped up at Westfield 87-66

Westfield, MA- The Westfield State Owls Men's Basketball team went on a game changing 18-0 run to close the first half and the duo of Jesus Sanchez and Shane Pasquantonio combined for 49 points as they cruised past MCLA 87-66 in MASCAC action held at the Woodward Center.  The Owls improve to 6-8 overall and even their conference slate at 1-1.  MCLA drops to 4-9 and is now 0-2 in the conference.

Sanchez had 25 points and Pasquantonio had 24 for the Owls in the win.  The duo also went 17-30 from the floor to lead the team.  Jose Allen added 18 points for the Owls.

In the opening half, MCLA trailed the entire way until a Paul Maurice three pointer gave them a 30-28 advantage with 4:31 left til halftime.  From there, the Owls took command by riding the hot hands of Sanchez and Jose Allen as they embarked on their game changing 18-0 spurt.  The pair combined for four triples in the run that spanned the remainder of the half to make it 46-30 at halftime.

In the second half, MCLA quickly scored the first six points of the half to slice the margin to 10 points, however the Owls had the answer behind Pasquantonio and Sanchez.  The duo helped stem the tide and eventually regain control.  The Owls would push the lead to as many as 21 points with seven minutes to play.  MCLA would get within 14 points on a pair of occasions, but the hosts kept them at bay.

Paul Maurice came off the bench to score 14 points to lead the Trailblazers including a pair of three pointers.   Khalil Paul added 11 points in the loss.  MCLA was hurt by 24 turnovers and shot just 4-19 from beyond the arc.

Westfield shot a solid 46% from the floor in the win.  Allen added 6 assists for the Owls while Pasquantonio added 9 boards.  The Owls overcame 16 turnovers to record the win.

MCLA will be back at home on Wednesday when they host Salem State in the Amsler Campus Center.