WORCESTER—Something had to give on Wednesday night as the two teams tied atop the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) men’s basketball standings battled at Lancer Gymnasium.
In a back and forth matchup, Worcester State (8-12, 6-3) managed just two field goals and missed five free throws over the final six minutes on its way to an 84-72 loss to Westfield State (15-5, 7-2).
The defeat dropped Worcester State to second place in the conference while Westfield claimed sole possession of first place with five regular-season league contests remaining. Daniel Wondie’s three-point bucket put the Lancers up 63-61 with just over eight minutes remaining, but the Owls outscored Worcester State 23-9 from that point on to close out the game and earn their seventh conference win of the season.
“Down the stretch, too many mistakes–missed free throws and turnovers,” said Worcester State Head Coach Al Pettway. “At one point I don’t think we scored for five or six minutes. They just wore us down. Their guards executed–our guards didn’t. That was the difference in the game.”
Five Lancers scored in double figures led by Worcester native and former North High standout Joe Okla who posted a double-double with team-highs of 16 points and 11 rebounds. In nine conference games, he has averaged a team-leading 18.3 points per game. Earlier this week, Okla was named both the MASCAC Player and Rookie of the Week.
Wondie added 15 points on five three-pointers for the Lancers and Johnny Annan finished just shy of a triple-double with 10 points, 11 rebounds and a team-high seven assists.
Kenney Rogers racked up a game-high 23 points to lead Westfield. He also grabbed 10 rebounds and recorded five assists and four steals. Worcester State shot just 43 percent from the field, 58 percent from the free throw line and committed 19 turnovers.
“There’s still five games left and a lot can happen in the next two weeks,” added Pettway. “We just have to take care of business in our next game.”
The Lancers next play at Fitchburg State on February 7. Three of Worcester State’s final four regular season games will be played at home against Framingham State (Feb.11), Salem State (Feb. 14) and Bridgewater State (Feb. 21).
The MASCAC championship tournament will take place Feb. 24, 26 and 28.
Mike Vigneux can be reached at Mikevigs@gmail.com
