Lancers Hold Off Westfield Rally, 84-81

WESTFIELD, Mass. –  Westfield State rallied from a 20-point first-half deficit to grab a late lead, but Worcester State regained the lead and held off the Owls in the closing seconds for an 84-81 Lancers' win in a MASCAC men's basketball game at the Brissette Court in Worcester on Tuesday evening.

Westfield slips to 9-6, 1-1 in the MASCAC, while Worcester is now 5-8 and 1-0 in the conference.

The Owls were led by 15 points, seven rebounds and five assists from senior guard Moody Bey (Springfield Mass./Monson).

Westfield trailed 50-30 late in the first half, before Jauch Green, Jr. (Hartford, Conn./Cromwell) grabbed a steal and dunked as time expired to trim the Lancer lead to 50-32 at the half.   Worcester got 17 first-half points from Chris Cardoso, and the Lancers shot 7-15 from behind the arc in building the big lead.

The Owls ground their way back into the second half, finally grabbing a 69-68 lead on a Green layup with 5:19 left in regulation.

Westfield led 75-72 on a Bey three pointer with 2:51 left, but Cardoso answered with a triple of his own to tie the game at 75-all.

A Cal Howes' three-pointer for Worcester gave the Lancers an 81-77 lead with 27 seconds left.

Bey led five Owls players in double figures in scoring.  Green, Marcus Collins (Cambridge, Mass./Rindge and Latin) and Vawn Lord (West Springfield, Mass./Amherst) each finished with 13 points, with Justin Rennis adding 12.

Cardoso led Worcester with 28 points on 10-13 shooting from the floor. Erik Bjorn added 18 and Howes 14.

Westfield will next host Fitchburg State in a MASCAC game on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in the Woodward Center.