MCLA holds off Worcester for early MASCAC win 75-72

Worcester, MA- The MCLA Men's Basketball team held off Worcester State University 75-72 this afternoon in the MASCAC opener for both teams.  Freshman Ramon Viches' two clutch free throws in the final 15 seconds helped the Trailblazers hold off the Lancers.   With their sixth straight win, MCLA surpassed their win total from a year ago as they moved to 10-3 on the season, while Worcester falls to 2-11.

Junior forward Chris Harris led MCLA with 22 points and 9 rebounds, while senior Jon Greenberg added 13 points and 13 boards.  Viches would finish with 11 points on the night. Freshman Tyriq Rochester chipped in with 6 big points in the first half off the bench for MCLA.

Senior Dave Douillette (Bridgewater, MA) led four Lancers (2-11, 0-1 MASCAC) in double-figures as he notched 20 points and seven caroms with a perfect 8-for-8 line at the charity stripe.

Junior Frank Stephenson (Fall River, MA) chipped in with 15 points and three steals off the bench as junior Clayton Timas (New Bedford, MA) added 14 points and seven rebounds. Sophomore Monte Goodwin (Boston, MA/Belmont) rounded out the hosts with 10 points and three blocks.

Trailing by as many as 14 points early on in the second period, Worcester State erased the deficit to knot the score (55-55) at the 12:43 mark. MCLA was up 52-41with 16:45 left to play as the Lancers used a 15-3 run capped off by a three-point play from Stephenson to tie things up.

The game continued to go back and forth as there were five ties and five lead changes until the final 90 seconds of regulation. Worcester State had the largest lead during that stretch at four points (63-59).

With 1:26 left to play, Timas hit the back end of a bonus opportunity at the free throw line to put the Lancers up 72-71 before Brown notched a key lay-up for the one point advantage (73-72).

The Blue and Gold then called a timeout to draw up a play with 66 ticks remaining. WSU had two great opportunities with a three-pointer by junior Joe LaRoche (Braintree, MA) and a jumper by Douillette, but neither of the shots went through the net.

After Douillette's attempt, Greenburg grabbed the rebound and he was sent to the stripe for getting fouled. His first shot was missed, so the Lancers had one more chance with 30 seconds on the clock to score the go-ahead basket, but the Trailblazers forced a turnover in the back court to get the ball back. 

Viches would then can his two free throws to put MCLA up by three at 75-72 with 16 ticks remaining.  Douillette had an open look for a bid to tie, but his miss allowed the Trailblazers to hold on for the victory.

With the score knotted 6-6 four minutes into the contest, MCLA would go on a 15-1 spurt for the 21-8 advantage with 12 minutes left to play. Worcester State would get as close as seven points at the 4:56 mark (31-24), but the Trailblazers would build on their lead and outscore the hosts 11-6 in the final five minutes for the 42-30 halftime score.

MCLA held a 40-35 rebounding margin and a 16-13 edge on the offensive glass. Both squads were even with equal amounts of points in the paint (36-36) while the visitors had slight leads in points off turnovers (23-19) and second chance points (20-15).

The Trailblazers shot 44 percent for the game (29-for-65) while they only connected for five of their 19 attempts from three-point land (26 percent). After going 9-for-24 from the field in the opening frame (38 percent), the hosts improved with a 47 percent clip in the second stanza (16-for-34).

Neither team shot particularly well from the charity stripe as WSU was 68 percent at the end of the contest (19-for-28) as MCLA was 12-for-19 (63 percent).

Both squads will return to MASCAC play on Tuesday evening at 7:30.  Worcester State will travel to Westfield State while MCLA plays Salem State in North Adams, MA.