Westfield State Rolls Past Men’s Basketball, 99-86

WESTFIELD, Mass. – The MCLA Men's Basketball team played their first road MASCAC game of the season this afternoon, traveling to Westfield State for a matchup with the Owls at the Westfield State Wellness Center. A trio of Trailblazers set new career highs as Quentin Gittens scored 30 points, JoJo Garcia added 20, and Craig Williams tallied 13 points off the bench.

THE BASICS:

• Date: Saturday, January 6, 2024
• Score: MCLA 86, Westfield State 99
• Records: MCLA Trailblazers 6-7 (MASCAC 1-1) | Westfield State Owls 11-4 (MASCAC 2-0)

HOW IT HAPPENED

• MCLA kept the game close early, with 10 lead changes in the opening 10 minutes. The Trailblazers were within five points of the hosts with two minutes remaining in the first half before the Owls began to pull away, leading 46-39 at the half.
• Westfield State kept the pressure on after the break, eventually growing their lead to as many as 20 points with just under 12 minutes remaining. MCLA outscored the Owls 40-33 over those final 12 minutes but never got closer than seven points when senior Quentin Gittens dropped a jump shot with 8:02 to go.
• Gittens scored a career-high 30 points, topping his high of 26 set earlier this season against Vermont State-Lyndon. Gittens also had a team-high 14 rebounds for his fourth double-double in the last six games.
• JoJo Garcia also set a new career-high with 21 points, a one-point improvement over his previous high of 20 set at Bridgewater State on January 21^st of last year.
• Craig Williams also extended his career-high to 13 points in 28 minutes off the bench, following up what had previously been his career-high of 11 points set Wednesday night against Fitchburg State.
• Four Owls finished with double-digit points, led by 25 points from JuJu Omot and 17 points from Lid Moreland. Brendon Hamilton had a double-double with 15 points and 14 rebounds, and Doug Alves rounded out the quartet with 12 points.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Field Goals / %: MCLA 29-74 / 39.2%, Westfield 36-79 / 45.6%
• 3 Points / %: MCLA 12-36 / 33.3%, Westfield 6-22 / XX.X%
• Free Throw / %: MCLA 16-22 / 72.7%, Westfield 21-31 / 67.7%
• Rebounds: MCLA 46, Westfield 48
• Points off Turnovers: MCLA 14, Westfield 14
• Second Chance Points: MCLA 7, Westfield 13
• Points in the Paint: MCLA 24, Westfield 50
• Bench Points: MCLA 17, Westfield 22

UP NEXT:

On Wednesday, MCLA will be back in action when they travel to Bridgewater State for a MASCAC matchup with the Bears at the Adrian Tinsley Center. The teams will take the floor for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off.

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