Fitchburg, Mass. – Westfileld State used a 19-2 run in the second half to flip the momentum of the game, as the Owls secured a 73-65 decision tover Fitchburg State in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action tonight  from the Parkinson Gymnasium.

 Westfield State is now 14-4, 4-2 MASCAC, while Fitchburg State is 4-12, 2-3 MASCAC.

In a low scoring first half of basketball the Owls opened the contest with eight consecutive points capped by a three-point shot from Justin Rennis (Springfield, Mass.).  The Falcons answered with the next eight points including a good jumper from Dayne Allen (Revere, Mass.) and Tayjahn Joyner's (Hadley, Mass.) two points from the charity stripe. Knotted at 15-15 the Falcons forged ahead with a layup and a jumper from Darian Norwood (San Diego, Calif.).  The Owls answered with a three-point play from Meesha Ohrandka (Feeding Hills, Mass.) to regain the lead (22-21). Joyner drained a trey to end the first half and give the Falcons a 28-24 lead.

Trailing 32-31 early in the second half, Westfield State would go on a 19-2 stretch to break open the game. Junior JT Thompson (Columbus, SC) contributed 7 points in the run. The Falcons responded with a tip-in from Joyner and a pair of free throws from Norwood to cut the deficit to 57-44.  With 1:39 left freshman Frederick Siayor (Worcester, Mass.) nailed a triple from behind the arc to make it a 10-point game (63-53), however the Owls closed out the game with 10 free-throws for the 73-65 final.

Fitchburg State was led by Siayor with a team-leading 14 points, five boards while Quincy Taylor added 5 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.  

Thompson and Brendon Hamilton each had 16 points for Westfield

Fitchburg State went 23-for-73 (31.5%) overall and (8-for-22) 36.4% from three-point range.

Westfield shot 26-for-61 (42.6%) from the field and (4-for-5) 80% from beyond the arc.