Men's Basketball Falls to Westfield State, 61-59
Framingham, MA - Senior guard Dave Jaehnig's (Quincy, MA) lay-up with twenty seconds remaining lifted the Westfield State College men's basketball team to a 61-59 win on the road tonight in Framingham in Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action. With the win, the Owls improve to 16-8 on the season and 8-3 in the MASCAC, while the Rams move to 14-11 overall and 6-6 in conference.
Jaehnig led the Owls with a game-high 14 points and four rebounds, while junior guard Brandon Mauer (Pittsfield, MA) chipped in 10 points and four boards. Juniors Kevin Knowles (Freetown, MA) and Drew Pereira (Seekonk, MA) added nine points apiece. Pereira finished with a double double as he also grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds.
Junior center Roderick Jackson (Cambridge, MA), who spent most of the second half in foul trouble, led five Rams in double figures with a game-high 14 points and four boards, while classmate Darius Yarrell (Brockton, MA) added 13 points, seven assists and three steals. Junior guard Bill Carey (Abington, MA) connected on 3 of 8 from behind the arc for 12 points to go along with five boards. Josue Almodovar (Holyoke, MA) and Chad Dixon (Brockton, MA) added 10 points apiece.
The Rams defense forced eight Owls turnovers in the first half which they converted into 11 points while the Rams only committed three miscues en route to a 40-36 lead at the break. Yarrell, Jackson and Carey all had ten first half points for the Rams.
With the Rams leading 52-45 with 12:47 remaining in the game, the Owls turned up their defensive intensity and held the Rams scoreless for the next seven minutes as they went on a 6-0 run to cut the Rams lead to 52-51 with 5:27 remaining.
The Owls were able to tie the game at 56-56 on a three pointer from Jaehnig with 3:22 remaining. After a lay-up from Mauer, the Owls were up one with 1:36 remaining. Almodovar was fouled on the Rams ensuing possession and hit one of two to cut the Owls lead to one at 58-57 with just over a minute remaining. On the Owls next possession Carey stole the ball and drove the length of the court for a tough lay in that put the Rams up one at 59-58. The Owls immediately inbounded and found Jaehnig who hit a lay up in traffic for the go ahead score. The Rams had a chance for the win on their final possession but Yarrell's shot was blocked by Jaehnig and Almodovar missed a jumper and Pereira secured the rebound to seal the win.
The Owls return to action on Saturday as they host Fitchburg State at 3 p.m. The Rams will return to action next Tuesday, February 24th in the first round on the MASCAC Tournament.