Defense fails Men's Basketball in 97-75 loss to Westfield State

Courtesy of Westfield Sports Information

WESTFIELD, Mass.  --  Westfield State junior forward Marcus Collins (Rindge & Latin/Cambridge, Mass.) and senior guard Austin Joseph (Cardinal Spellman/Rockland, Mass.) each posted career-highs in scoring to lead the owls to a 97-75 win over Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts on Saturday afternoon in the Woodward Center in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference men's basketball game.

Collins scored 28 points, grabbed eight rebounds, handed out six assists and blocked three shots in his finest overall performance as a member of the Owls.   Joseph has been on a scoring tear over the last four games, netting 22 points today on 9-11 shooting from the floor and 4-6 from three point range, while dishing out six assists.

The Owls improve to 9-11 overall and 3-4 in the MASCAC with the win.   MCLA drops to 6-12 and 3-4 in the MASCAC.

Westfield led 49-37 at the half on the strength of 56 percent (18-32) shooting from the floor.

Leading 54-43 with 17:31 left in the game, Westfield State extended its lead with a 12-2 streak over the next three and a half minutes. Collins started the run with a jumper and capped it with a layup, scoring eight points in that span.

Owls' sophomore forward Anthony Reynolds (Cathedral/Springfield, Mass.) scored 14 points to match his season high, and Peter Mafo (Lynn Classical/Lynn, Mass.) added 14 as well.  Westfield finished 38-71 from the floor (53.5 %) for the game and connected on 8-20 three point tries.  The Owls handed out 24 assists on the 38 baskets.

The Trailblazers were led by 16 points from Mike Dimartinis (Burlington, Mass.) and 11 from Keiland Cross (Pittsfield, Mass.).

Westfield State is idle until next Saturday when they travel to Bridgewater State.    MCLA will next host Bridgewater in a midweek game on Wednesday night.