Owls Hold Off Lancers, 71-65

WORCESTER, Mass. – Brendon Hamilton (Worcester, Mass.) tipped in a loose ball and converted a free throw for a three-point play in the final second as Westfield State defeated Worcester State 71-65 in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) men's basketball action on Wednesday evening at Brissette '88 Court.

Westfield holds on to it's share of first place in the conference standings, and with two games remaining in the regular season, control their own destiny for the number one seed, as the Owls could clinch the top seed in the tournament with wins in both forthcoming games.

The Lancers had a chance to tie the game, down by three with the ball with 12 seconds remaining, but Kumar Brown (Enfield, Conn.) came up with a steal, forcing the Lancers to follow and leading to Hamilton's tip-in on the missed free throw.

Neither team led by more than nine points in a tightly contested game, but the Lancers were ahead by six five minutes into the second half after a three-pointer by Sam Dion (Barre, Mass.), who had 13 points and three assists.

Dion hit from long range again to keep the Lancers up 4 points, but Brown made back to back baskets and the Owls went on a 9-0 run to take a 61-56 lead with seven minutes remaining.

Westfield (18-4, 8-2 MASCAC) would not relinquish that lead, extending it to six points on a layup by Jeremy Remigio (Santo Domingo, D.R.), who had 12 points off the Owls bench.

Erik Bjorn (Holden, Mass.) made two free throws to cut the deficit back to two, but Hamilton finished off a wild sequence of offensive rebounds for Westfield with a tip-in at 1:31, foreshadowing his similar play that sealed the victory for Westfield.

Hamilton had 9 points and a game-high 14 rebounds, including five on the offensive glass. The Owls had a 44-35 edge on the glass, with Bjorn leading the Lancers with 9 boards, to go with 9 points.

Brown finished the night with 15 points for Westfield, who shot 46% from the field, while Justin Rennis (Springfield, Mass.) had 10 points and two blocks.

Ryan Rubenskas (Bridgewater, Mass.) led the Lancers with 15 points, and filled the stat sheet with 7 rebounds, two assists, three steals and two blocks. Chris Cardoso (Jamaica Plain, Mass.) had 9 points, eight rebounds, two assists and four steals.

Westfield heads to Bridgewater State on Saturday for a 3:00 PM game, while the Lancers will travel to Fitchburg State and tip-off at 2:00 PM.

-- release courtesy Worcester State sports info