Thompson, Hamilton Named First-Team All-MASCAC

WESTFIELD, Mass. –  Westfield State University seniors J.T. Thompson (Columbia, S.C./Dutch Fork) and Brendon Hamilton (Worcester, Mass./Worcester Tech) have been named to the 2023 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference men's basketball all-conference team.

Both Thompson and Hamilton were first-team selections.

Thompson, a swingman, finished the season at the Owls' leading scorer at 17.4 points per game, which ranked second in the league.   He led the team and the conference with 65 three-pointers, which he knocked down at a 37.4 percent clip.  Thompson was at his best in the Owls run to the MASCAC Championship game as he averaged 26.7 ppg in the three tournament games, scoring 29 in the conference championship game loss at Worcester State.

His 65 three pointers this season are the fifth-best single season total in school history, as are his 117 three-pointers in his two-year career with the Owls after transferring from Division II Limestone College. He finishes with exactly 700 points as an Owl.

Hamilton was named to the first-team for the second straight year. He was also the league's rookie of the year in 2020. The 6-6 forward averaged 13.2 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.4 blocked shots per game this season.  He averaged 16.2 points per game in 12 games against conference foes.  He finished eighth in the league in rebounding and fifth in blocked shots. 

In his three-year career at Westfield, Hamilton has scored 953 points, grabbed 825 rebounds and blocked 134 shots.  He's 24^th on the Owls all-time scoring list, ranks third in career rebounds, and third in career blocked shots.

The Owls finished with a 12-16 overall record after playing a tough early season schedule that included three teams that ranked in the top 10 in the country during the season.  Westfield finished 8-4 in league play to finish tied for second in the MASCAC, ending up as the #3 seed in the conference tournament by virtue of the league's tiebreakers.  Westfield defeated MCLA in the opening round of the league playoffs before going on the road to defeat second-seeded Bridgewater, before falling to top-seed Worcester State, 65-53 in the league championship game.