WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State men's basketball has been picked to finish second in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference this season, according to the league's preseason coaches' poll.
The Owls finished with 31 points and two first place votes. Defending league champion Salem State, which defeated Westfield in last year's conference championship game, was picked to repeat, earning 35 points and the other five available first-place votes.
Westfield State will return a strong nucleus for 2019-20, headlined by All-Conference performers Jauch Green, Jr. (Hartford, Conn.) and Marcus Collins (Cambridge, Mass.).
Green led the Owls last season scoring 22.6 points per game, and grabbing 9.9 rebounds per nite. The 6-4 swingman got to the foul line more than any other player in the nation last year, attempting 269 free throws. He also ranked 23rd in NCAA Division III in scoring average, and 12th with 16 double-doubles.
Forward Marcus Collins, a graduate student, added 13.9 points and 7.6 rebounds per game, while shooting 55 perecent from the floor.
Guards Moody Bey (Springfield, Mass.), Malik Pouncy (Mattapan, Mass.), Bahu Abdul-Wadud (Springfield, Mass.), and Sam Traicoff (Beverly, Mass.) and forwards Vawn Lord (West Springfield, Mass.) and Justin Rennis (Springfield, Mass.) all played key minutes for the Owls a year ago, and joined by nine newcomers that should have the Owls poised for another strong season.
The Owls will tip off the 2019-20 season with a home game against Alfred (N.Y.) University on Saturday, November 9 at the Woodward Center with a noon tip.
Bridgewater State was picked third in the poll, followed by Fitchburg, Worcester, Framingham and MCLA.