Owls Obtain Sole Possession of First Place in 84-72 Win at Worcester

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Kenney Rogers (Springfield, Mass.) recorded a double-double with a game-leading 23 points and ten rebounds as Westfield State picked up an 84-72 road win at Worcester State in a battle for first place in the MASCAC standings on Wednesday night.

Both teams entered tonight's game tied at the top of the league standings with the Owls sweeping the regular season series and snatching sole possession of first place with a 7-2 conference mark (15-5 overall). The Lancers suffer consecutive conference losses and fall to 6-3 in the MASCAC and 8-12 on the season. The Owls clinch the tiebreaker with the Lancers should the two teams be tied with one another at the conclusion of the regular season.

The Owls closed the game strong, hanging their hat on the defensive end late while getting the necessary offensive production to gain an advantage in the closing minutes. With 8:16 remaining in the second half, Daniel Wondie gave Worcester a two-point lead with a triple, then Rogers converted consecutive layups at the rim to retake the lead.

After a made basket for Worcester, Xavier Lewis (Long Island, N.Y.) carved his way into the paint and scored a layup, then after two stops on the defensive end, Keith Mency (Edgewater, N.J.) nailed a deep three as the shot clock expired, falling away into the Owls bench to put the Owls up five points with 4:16 to go.

Westfield held Worcester without a make on the next possession allowing Joe Thomson (Sunderland, Mass.) to score on the other end to punctuate an 11-2 run over a four-minute stretch.

The Lancers split two trips at the free throw line to trim the deficit to five points and controlled the ball, setting up a thunderous block by Thomson who pinned the ball against the glass on a layup attempt, securing the defensive rebound where he was fouled. He made both from the stripe to extend the lead to seven points, then the Owls forced a Lancers turnover on the ensuing possession which resulted in Lewis drawing a foul and converting both attempts with 57 seconds remaining to seal the game.

The Owls forced two additional turnovers in the final minute to cap the night and now control their path to the number one overall seed in the MASCAC tournament with five league games remaining.

Westfield shot an efficient 53.2 percent from the field as a team with that number reaching 56.7 percent in the second half. The Owls made five of 14 triples (35.7 percent) while the Lancers buried seven of 28 three-pointers with the Owls holding Worcester to 2-13 shooting from distance in the final 20 minutes.

Westfield turned 19 Worcester turnovers into 24 points compared to just 12 Owls turnovers which generated 11 points.

The two teams went into the locker room tied at 39 with Rogers launching a three-pointer with eight seconds left to close the period with 14 points. The Owls got a boost off their bench from Cam Hoekstra (Spencer, Mass.) who tallied seven points and five boards in 11 first-half minutes.

Rogers and Lewis combined for 45 points in the game with Rogers registering his seventh double-double of the season, scoring in double figures in all but one game this year. Lewis reached 22 points on 8-12 shooting, generating six makes in seven free throw attempts. Lewis leads the league in free throw percentage at 86.0 percent. Jason James (Ansonia, Conn.) added 18 points as the third player to reach double figures.

Joe Okla and Johnny Annan both recorded double-doubles. Okla led the Lancers with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Wondie attempted 12 three-pointers, hitting five of them for 15 points.

Westfield State finishes the regular season with four of their final five games at home starting on Saturday at 2:00 P.M. against MCLA from the Woodward Center in Westfield, Mass.