Men’s Basketball’s Comeback Falls Short Against Worcester State

Framingham, Mass. – Worcester State University received 27 points from senior guard Kyle Ferreira (Westport, Mass.) as the Lancers defeated the Framingham State University Rams 81-76 this afternoon in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) men's basketball action at Framingham's Athletic Center.

With the victory the Lancers improve to 10-8 overall and 4-3 in the conference, while the Rams slip to 8-12 on the year and 1-6 in the MASCAC.

Ferreira connected on 8-of-13 from the floor including 5-of-8 from long range en route to his 27 points while chipping in five assists.  Junior Dane Jobst (Athol, Mass.) and senior Monte Goodwin (Boston, Mass.) each racked up double doubles.  Jobst had 21 points and 11 boards, while Goodwin contributed 13 points and 11 caroms.  Junior Robert Hunter (St. Louis, MO) also recorded double figures for the Lancers with 13 points.

The Rams were led by senior Tyrone Figueroa (Revere, Mass.) who tied his career-high with 27 points on 9-of-19 from the field to go along with five boards and three steals.  Junior Elijah Chisholm (East Boston, Mass.) scored a career-high 23 points off the bench for the Rams on 8-of-13 shooting from the floor, while junior Yemi Ajao (Randolph, Mass.) added 14 off the bench.

Worcester State used a 9-0 to open up a ten point lead with just over six minutes remaining in the first half with Jobst chipping in five of his 14 first half points on the spurt.  The Rams outscored the Lancers 15-7 to close the half with Figueroa leading the charge with nine of his 14 first half points as Worcester State took a two point lead into the locker room (36—34).

The Rams cut the lead to one in the opening minutes of the second half, but the Lancers rattled off a 14-2 run to take the game's largest lead, 13 points, on a Hunter lay-in on the break with 15 minutes remaining in the game.

The Rams chipped away at the lead and closed it to five with 9:13 left as they capitalized on a flagrant foul by the Lancers to score a free throw and a bucket.  A Figueroa basket and a pair of Chisholm freebies cut the lead to one before an Ajao post move in traffic gave the Rams their first lead of the half, 60-59, with 7:35 remaining.

Ferreira tied the game at 62 all with 6:17 left and a three on the Lancers next possession put the visitors ahead for good.  The Lancers pushed the lead back to nine with a minute remaining on a Goodwin bucket on the break.  The Rams would not go quietly as Chisholm cut the lead down to four (78-74) with 24.3 remaining on a pair of baskets and a free throw, but Ferreira hit 3-of-4 from the line in the final 16 seconds to seal the win.

The Rams return to action on Tuesday night with a MASCAC game at Bridgewater State beginning at 7:30 p.m., while the Lancers entertain Westfield State on Tuesday evening in a MASCAC matchup at 8 p.m.