Men's Basketball comes up short in 68-63 loss to Lancers
North Adams, MA-- Worcester State's Erik Bjorn scored 16 second half points to help the visiting Lancers hold off the MCLA Trailblazers 68-63 in MASCAC action from the Amsler Campus Center Gym. The Lancers improve to 13-11 overall and are now 8-3 in the conference. MCLA dips to 9-12 on the season and are 4-6 in the conference.
Bjorn was 9-11 shooting after being in foul trouble in the opening half. He ended with a double double of 19 points and 13 rebounds to lead all players.
The Lancers never trailed in the opening half of play. They would take a 30-27 lead into the locker room at halftime. The visitors began the second half with ten straight points to force an MCLA timeout as the lead grew to 40-30, their largest of the night.
MCLA responded with a 10-0 spurt of their own to tie things up at 40-40 still with fourteen minutes left to play. MCLA finally took their first lead of the night on a three point field goal from Reece Racette and when Dylan Morris-Gray converted, they led 45-42.
A few minutes later, MCLA held a 52-50 advantage after a Noah Yearsley three, but the Lancers responded with a three pointer of their own from Zion Hendrix to take the lead for good. The basket started a 7-0 run capped off by a pair of free throws from Chris Cardoso and Worcester now led 57-52.
MCLA would close to within three at 63-60 following a Quentin Gittens jumper in the paint with under two minutes remaining, but the Lancers Ryan Rubenskas would make both free throws on the other end to keep the hosts at bay. MCLA would never get closer than three the rest of the way as Cardoso closed out the Trailblazers by making three of four free throws down the stretch.
Rubenskas scored 16 points for Worcester State and grabbed 7 boards. Hendrix ended with 12 points on the night. Worcester State shot a solid 49% from the floor which included a 61% performance over the final twenty minutes of action.
MCLA was paced by Gittens' team high 16 point night. He was 7-17 shooting and added 7 rebounds. Noah Yearsley ended with 15 points while Hayden Bird added 13. MCLA could not overcome a 39% shooting night over the longer Lancers.
The Trailblazers will be on the road on Friday night when they head to Bridgewater State for a 7:30 tilt.