MCLA holds off Worcester 78-75
Led by a double double from John Jones, the MCLA Men improved to a conference best 7-1 by defeating Worcester State 78-75 heading into a showdown Tuesday night with Westfield State.
North Adams, MA- The MCLA Men's basketball team had a double digit lead late in the second half, but then had to hang on late as they defeated Worcester State 78-75 this evening to improve to a MASCAC best 7-1 heading into a key matchup with Westfield State Tuesday night. The Lancers even their record at 10-10 overall, and fall to 4-5 in league play.
MCLA (11-10 overall) held the lead much of the night and led 69-58 with just 1:46 left to play following a Richard Johnson putback. Worcester State would not go quietly however, as Alex Lopez quickly answered with a layup and Kyle Ferreira knocked down a pair of free throws to cut the lead to 69-62 with 1:19 remaining.
Johnson would make a pair of free throws to extend the lead back to nine, however Lancer forward Dane Jobst would drill a three pointer to close the gap to 71-65. MCLA's Ruben DelRosario would knock down three out of four free throws in the next two possessions to push the Trailblazer lead to 74-65 in what seemed to be an insurmountable deficit for the Lancers.
A Lopez triple would slice the lead to 77-71 with 40 seconds left and then MCLA helped the cause by missing a pair of free throws. Jobst would add two from the strip to pull within four at 77-73 with just 23 seconds left. After MCLA made one of two from the line, Lancer Robert Hunter converted a layup and was fouled making it 78-75. He missed the free throw, however the Lancers got the rebound as it caromed out of bounds setting up one last opportunity. The MCLA defense stepped up however, and Lopez' contested three pointer at the buzzer was well short giving the Trailblazers the victory.
John Jones was spectacular for MCLA piling up 21 points and 12 rebounds for his fifth straight double double. Paul Maurice added 12 points for MCLA while Bilal Shabazz added 10.
For Worcester, Jobst led with 18 points, including 16 in the second half. He added 7 boards. Hunter collected a double double of his own finishing with 13 points and 13 rebounds. Monte Goodwin ended the night with 15 points and Lopez would finish with 12.
The MCLA win sets up a huge showdown with rival Westfield State on Tuesday night at 7:30.