WESTFIELD, Mass. – The Westfield State men's basketball team saw twelve different players get into the scoring column as the Owls defeated Framingham State 77-49 on a Wednesday night from the Woodward Center in Westfield, Mass. Owls junior forward Brendon Hamilton (Worcester, Mass.) narrowly missed a triple-double, compiling 12 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists in just twenty-two minutes of action.
The Owls victory moves the team to 16-4 overall and 6-2 in MASCAC play, while the Rams fall back to 3-16 and 1-6 in conference play.
The senior tandem of Kumar Brown (Enfield, Conn.) and Justin Rennis (Springfield, Mass.) each scored ten points in the game while the Owls got tremendous production from their bench, scoring 42 of Westfield's 77 total points.
The Owls jumped out to a quick double-digit lead five and a half minutes into the game as a Hamilton three-point play put Westfield up 13-2. From that point forward, the Rams would not get within single digits. Junior guard Jeremy Remigio (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) connected on a tough lay-up with thirteen seconds remaining in the half to put the Owls up 16 points heading into the break.
The Rams would start the second half strong, scoring on three of their first four possessions capped off by a lay-up by JD Okafor (Boston, Mass.) to trim the deficit to 12 points. The Owls would respond with an eight to nothing run of their own as a Kuany Teng (Manchester, N.H.) triple and a Remigio lay-in drove the lead up to 20 points. The Owls would extend the lead further, leading by as much as 38 points late in the second half.
Brett Okundaye (Boston, Mass.) led the Rams with 18 points and 12 rebounds (six offensive rebounds) off the bench. Okafor collected nine points and five rebounds, and Johsue Castillo (Lynn, Mass.) recorded four points and seven rebounds.
Westfield State's swarming defense was a difference maker in the contest, as the Owls generated 26 Framingham turnovers, leading to 31 points off turnovers to the Rams six points. The Owls paint presence was noticeable as well as they held a 54-32 advantage in points in the paint. Both teams struggled to find their shooting stroke from the field as the Owls shot 44.4% overall (32-72) and just 18.2% from three-point range. The Rams checked out slightly worse in both categories, shooting 33.3% from the floor (21-63) and 17.6% from long range (3-17).
Westfield State will extend a four-game winning streak into a weekend showdown as the Owls will welcome Salem State to the Woodward Center on Saturday at 2:00 P.M. in a clash between the top two teams in the MASCAC. Framingham State will return home to face Fitchburg State in a conference battle on Saturday at 2:00 P.M.