Westfield, Mass. – Westfield State junior forward Brendon Hamilton (Worcester, Mass.) pulled down his eighth double-double of the season by scoring 19 points and adding 20 rebounds as the Owls won the York Tournament Invitational championship, 101-71, over host York College on Saturday afternoon in Jamaica, New York. Hamilton was named the York Tournament MVP after averaging 19.5 points and 18.5 rebounds while shooting 60.9% from the floor over the course of the two games.
The tournament victory pushed the Owls winning streak to five games, improving their record to 10-2 on the season.
In the first half, the Owls went on a 22-6 run in a span of six minutes to go up by 16 points midway through the first half. The Cardinals would trim the lead down to eleven at halftime, and would cut the Owl lead to five with 13:44 remaining in the game. Out of an ensuing Westfield timeout, the Owls would rip off a 17-2 run to push the lead up to 20 and distance themselves from the Cardinals.
Junior wing JT Thompson (Columbia, S.C.) collected 18 points, seven rebounds, and a team-leading four triples. Thompson was named to the York College All-Tournament team in part to his three point shooting as he buried eight triples across both games.
Junior forward Joseph Meade (Westfield, Mass.) provided 19 points and eight rebounds off the bench. Senior Justin Rennis (Springfield, Mass.) and junior Jeremy Remigio (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) each scored in double figures. Rennis compiled 17 points (10-10 from the free throw line) and Remigio generated 15 points and dished out six assists.
Cardinals guards Devine Chisholm (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Donald Hartley Jr. (Harlem, N.Y.) each scored 18 points. Senior Quarin Dublin a (New York, N.Y.) added 17 points as the trio accounted for the bulk of the scoring for York.
Westfield State made a living on the glass, out-rebounding the Cardinals 53-29 including 16 second chance points to the Cardinals' two. The Owls shot 34 for 72 (47.2%) from the field including seven of 22 (31.8%) from three-point range. York College made 22 of 59 attempts (37.3%) along with five of 18 triples (27.8%). Both teams got to the free throw line frequently as the Owls connected on an efficient 26 of 29 (89.7%) while the Cardinals made 22 of 29 (75.9%) attempts.
Westfield State will return to action after the new year as the Owls will host MCLA in the MASCAC opener on Wednesday, January 5th at 7:30 P.M. from the Woodward Center in Westfield, Mass.