Men’s Basketball Falls at Home to Westfield State

Framingham, Mass. – The Westfield State University men's basketball team placed a trio of Owls in double figures as they defeated the Framingham State University men's basketball team 69-45 in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action this evening at the Athletic Center.     

With the win, the Owls improve to 7-8 on the season and 2-1 in the conference, while the Rams fall to 3-11 overall and 0-3 in the MASCAC.

The Owls started the game with an 18-0 run over the first seven minutes as the Rams started 0-for-7 from the floor with four turnovers.  Junior Jose Allen (Amherst, Mass.) drained three threes during the opening run and classmate Jesus Sanchez (Springfield, Mass.) chipped in with five points including a conventional three point play. 

Junior Dan Gould (Quincy, Mass.) got the Rams on the board with 12:30 remaining in the half with a three from long range.  The Owls pushed the lead to as many as 23 in the opening half, but the Rams closed the frame with a 9-2 run capped by a Patrick Donovan (Walpole, Mass.) jumper as time expired to cut the deficit to 37-23 at half.

The Rams cut the lead down to seven after opening the second stanza with an 11-4 run fueled by a bucket in the paint from sophomore Tony Alexandre (Hyde Park, Mass.) and another three from Gould.  The Owls countered with a run of their own capped by a dunk from Tchuijo Nkamebo (Amherst, Mass.) to push the lead to 14 with just over 10 minutes remaining.  The Owls extended the lead to as many as 26 late in the second before securing the victory.

Allen paced the Owls with 19 points on 5-of-7 from behind the arc, while Sanchez filled the stat sheet with 16 points, four rebounds and four assists.  Junior Shane Pasquantonio (Ashland, Mass.) chipped in with 13 points and four boards, while Nkamembo grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds.

The Rams were led by 19 points and nine rebounds from Alexandre who finished just a rebound shy of a double double.  Gould ended the night with nine points on 3-of-5 from behind the arc.

The Rams are back in action on Saturday afternoon when they host MASCAC rival MCLA at 3 p.m., while the Owls are back on the road for a MASCAC contest at Salem State, also at 3 p.m.