Men’s Basketball Loses Overtime Thriller to Westfield State 75-74
Framingham, Mass. – Senior guard Royce Veal (Dorchester, Mass.) poured in a game-high 26 points for the Rams but a Jesse Benoit (Granby, Mass.) put back with 7.8 seconds remaining lifted the Westfield State men's basketball team to a 75-74 overtime victory in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) men's basketball action this evening.
Both teams are now an identical 9-14 on the season, but with the win the Owls move ahead of the Rams into the fourth spot in the MASCAC standings at 5-5 in the conference with two MASCAC games remaining while the Rams finish their conference action this evening with a 5-7 mark.
Veal led four Rams in double figures with 26 points including 14-of-17 from the free throw line to go along with six rebounds and four steals. Freshman Tyrone Figueroa (Revere, Mass.) tied a career-high with 17 points, four boards, three assists and two steals, while Marcus Mclaurin (Braintree, Mass.) and Yemi Ajao (Randolph, Mass.) chipped in 12 and 11 points respectively.
The Owls were led by sophomore center Matt Devine (Pembroke, Mass.) who picked up a double double with team-highs of 22 points and 10 rebounds to go along with five blocks and four assists. Junior Marcellus Lee (Quincy, Mass.) chipped in 14 points and nine boards off the bench for the Owls, while Lee Vazquez (Attleboro, Mass.) added 13 points on a trio of threes and Benoit finished with 12 and nine boards.
In a back-and-forth game that saw 10 ties and five lead changes in regulation, the Rams took the largest lead of the game at 57-50 with 6:26 remaining. A Lee put back in the paint and a pair of Eugene Turner (Lynn, Mass.) free throws cut the lead back to three at 57-54, but the Rams were called for a technical foul after the free throw giving the Owls two shots and the ball back. Andrew Morgan (Somerset, NJ) sank both freebies and Divine hit a turnaround on the block to erase the Rams lead and put the Owls up by one with 5:11 remaining.
After another Lee bucket, Figueroa tied the game at 60-60 on three from the top of the key. Westfield scored the next five points to take a 65-60 lead with 3:20 remaining, but the Rams answered with a 5-0 run of their own and retied the game at 65-65 on pair of Veal free throws with 1:53 remaining.
Another Divine tip-in put the Owls back up, but Veal answered with a tough drive in the lane to tie the score at 67-67 with 1:02 remaining. Both teams had their chance to win the game at the end of regulation, but neither team could convert. Veal was called for an offensive foul on a lay-up with 31.5 remaining and the basket was waved off, and the Owls turned the ball over at midcourt with 25.9 seconds left. The Rams called a pair of timeouts in the final 20 seconds, but a Veal runner in the lane rolled off the rim forcing overtime.
In the extra session, the Owls opened up a four point lead on a pair of Divine free throws and a monster dunk by Benoit, but Veal was sent to the line on the Rams next two possessions and sank four freebies to tie the game at 71-71 with 1:33 left. Divine and Veal traded hoops again tying the score at 73-73 with 45 seconds left.
After a timeout, the Owls had a clean look at a three that rattled out, but Westfield grabbed two offensive boards setting up Benoit for the game winning put back. Benoit was fouled and missed the free throw giving the Rams a chance with 7.8 seconds remaining. Senior Anthony Pappagallo (Malden, Mass.) corralled the rebound for the Rams and found Veal who was fouled just over midcourt with 2.8 ticks on the clock. Veal hit one of two but time expired as the rebound was knocked around giving the Owls the one point win.
The Owls out-rebounded the Rams 43-34 in the game and held a 22-12 advantage on the offensive glass. The Owls converted their 22 offensive rebounds into 20 points as they held a 40-34 scoring advantage in the paint.
The Rams conclude the regular season on Saturday with a non-conference game with Babson at home at 2 p.m., while the Owls travel to Worcester State on Thursday night at 8 p.m.