NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – Senior guard Dylan Morris-Gray scored 18 points to lead the Trailblazers as MCLA topped Westfield State 82-76 in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference opener for both teams at the Amsler Gym on Wednesday evening.
Westfield falls to 1-11, 0-1 MASCAC, while MCLA improves to 5-6, 1-0 MASCAC.
After the Owls scored the first two points of the second half, a 7-0 Blazer run gave MCLA its biggest lead of the night at 52-44.
Westfield hung tough, tying the game 63-all on a Brendan Keaveny fast break layup on a feed from Gerry McManus with seven minutes left in regulation, and the Owls grabbed a 69-66 lead when Kumar Brown tipped in his own miss a few minutes later.
Morris-Gray drilled a long three pointer to give the Blazers the lead back for good at 75-72 with 2:30 to play.
A layup from Westfield's Brendan Hamilton trimmed the lead to 75-74, but after the teams traded turnovers, MCLA's Noah Yearsley drained a 3-pointer off of pump fake and slide left, that gave the Blazers a 78-74 lead with 1:29 left.
Morris-Gray all but iced it with a pair of free throws with 18.5 seconds left to boost the Blazer lead to 82-76
Yearley finished with 16 for the Blazers, with Amon Moore adding 15 and Mamadou Diallo 10. Morris gray added four assists.
Westfield was led by 20 points from Brown, and Hamilton added 18 points and 11 rebounds as the Owls were able to consistently work the ball inside. JT Thompson added 15 points, and Jeremy Remigio 10. McManus handed out five assists for the Owls.
Westfield was hurt by shooting just 15-31 (48.4%) from the foul line.
MCLA led 45-42 at the half.
Westfield was led by 12 in the opening stanza from Thompson, including a highlight reel alley-oop dunk on a lob from Jeremy Remigio early in the game.
Amon Moore led the Blazers with 12 in the first half.
Westfield State will next host Framingham State, with a 12 noon tip off at the Woodward Center on Saturday, with the Owl women following with a game against the Rams at 2:00 p.m. Both are MASCAC Conference games.
MCLA will travel to Fitchburg State for a 12 noon MASCAC tip against the Falcons.