Men's Basketball Falls to Worcester State, 68-57

Worcester, Mass. - Senior Dane Jobst (Athol, Mass.) finished with 20 points and a season-best 20 rebounds as he helped pace Worcester State to a 68-57 victory over Framingham State this evening in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) men's basketball action at Holy Cross' Hart Center.

With the win the Lancers improve to 6-12 on the year and 3-3 in conference play. The Rams slip to 7-11 overall and 2-4 in the MASCAXC.

Jobst, who tied his career high in rebounds, posted his 12th double-double in 18 contests, while freshman Paul Brooks (Arlington, Mass.) added 14 points, five caroms and a season-best five blocks. Junior Brendan Rios (Easthampton, Mass.) added 12 points, while freshman Noris Cuevas-Nova (Amherst, Mass.) chipped in with 11 points.  

Framingham State was propelled by sophomore Saleek Marshall (Avon, Mass.) who tallied 11 points in seven minutes off the bench, with three trifectas, while junior Ronnie DeBarros (New Bedford, Mass.) finished with 10 points.   Junior George Jordan (Worcester, Mass.) and junior Patrick Cuff (Medway, Mass.) combined to grab 15 boards in the setback for the Rams.

With the score 21-17 in favor of the Lancers after 13 minutes of play, the hosts used a quick 5-0 run to post a nine-point advantage with 6:28 remaining in the period.

Framingham State got as close as six points with 4:27 left (30-24) when freshman Matt Diver (Abington, Mass.) converted an old-fashioned three-point play, but Worcester State closed out the frame with a 9-2 run for the 39-26 lead at the intermission.

The Lancers extended their halftime advantage to as many as 20 in the early minutes of the second period (46-20) and peaked it at 58-35 with 7:50 on the clock.

Framingham State didn't give up as the squad was sparked by a field goal and a trey by Marshall and two lay-ups from Jordan in a 12-0 run to trail 58-47 at the 4:28 mark.

WSU responded and promptly sank four at the line to push the lead back to 15 with three minutes remaining in regulation (62-47).

In the waning moments of the contest the Lancers canned six from the charity stripe without a field goal for the final score.

Worcester State shot 43 percent from the floor for the game (20-for-47), but only connected on four of their 16 tries from beyond the arc. The Blue and Gold also missed 14 free throws, but led in total rebounds (48-42), points off turnovers (17-16) and second chance baskets (11-4).

Framingham State connected on 29 percent of their attempts (21-for-73) and seven of their 25 bids from downtown. The Rams finished the night up in fast break points (21-16) and bench scoring (27-10).

Worcester State takes the weekend bye and will play MCLA on the road on Tuesday in a 7:30 p.m. matchup. FSU hosts Westfield State on Saturday in a 3 p.m. MASCAC affair.

Release courtesy of WSU Sports Information.