Owls Suffer First Loss of Season After Cold Shooting Night

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State sophomore Kenney Rogers (Springfield, Mass.) totaled 14 points, ten rebounds, and seven steals but the Owls could not overcome a woeful team shooting effort as part of a 66-55 setback against Emmanuel College in a non-conference game from the Woodward Center on Wednesday night.

The Owls suffer their first loss of the season, dropping to 4-1 overall while the Saints improve to 4-3 on the season.

Westfield struggled across all three phases from the field, shooting a season-low 28 percent for the game (21-75 FG) and made just three triples on 20 attempts (15 percent). From the charity stripe, the Owls checked in at 45.5 percent with ten makes in 22 tries.

The Owls defense kept Westfield within striking distance, forcing 21 Saints turnovers while holding the opposition to 39.3 percent from the floor overall.

Trailing by nine entering the second half, the Owls scored four points in 38 seconds to cut into the Saints lead at 33-28, forcing a quick timeout by Emmanuel. Momentum stayed in the Owls favor with Rogers burying a jumper followed by a transition layup from Jason James (Ansonia, Conn.), cutting the deficit to two points at 35-33 with 16:35 left in the game.

The Saints responded with nine unanswered points, capped by a Cameron Snowden (Franklin Park, N.J.) layup to push the Emmanuel lead to 11 points (44-33).

Down ten points, Joe Thomson (Sunderland, Mass.) skied up for a block, setting Xavier Lewis (Long Island, N.Y.) in transition where the Owls would miss two layups at the rim. The Owls scrappy defense forced a Saints turnover on the ensuing possession giving Westfield another chance to cut into the lead, but two more opportunities at the net could not be converted, springing Emmanuel down the other end of the court where a foul would result in two makes from Noah Beaudet (Norwood, Mass.), increasing the lead to 12.

Rogers provided brief life for Westfield, connecting on a triple for the first three of the game for the Owls with 5:45 left to make it a nine-point game, but a three-point play by Snowden sent the Saints lead back into double figures, ultimately putting the game out of reach with about five left in regulation.

Lewis joined Rogers as the other double figure scorer for the Owls, logging 13 points and three steals. Thomson led the unit with 12 rebounds and swatted four shots.

Emmanuel had five players with ten or more points led by Beaudet's 14 points. Mahari Guerrier (Stoughton, Mass.) chipped in 13 points off the bench. Point guard Aidan Oliveira (Windham, N.H.) stuffed the stat sheet with ten points, 15 rebounds, and four assists.

Westfield State will be back in action on Saturday as the Owls visit Amherst College at 12:00 P.M.