Men’s Basketball Outlasted by Westfield State

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – The MCLA Men's Basketball team played what could turn out to be a key turning point in the MASCAC standings this evening when they hosted Westfield State for a matchup at the Amsler Campus Center Gymnasium. MCLA and Westfield both entered the evening tied with Bridgewater State and only a half-game behind MASCAC leading Worcester State Lancers. With only four games remaining after tonight, both teams were in need of a win to secure MASCAC playoff seeding. MCLA's Quentin Gittens led all scorers with 31 points, while Westfield State's Juju Omot finished with 25 points, and Brendon Hamilton added 15 points and pulled down a game-high 15 rebounds. Westfield won by a score of 86 to 65.

THE BASICS:

• Date: Wednesday, January 31, 2024
• Score: Westfield State 86, MCLA 65
• Records: Westfield State Owls 15-6 (MASCAC 6-2) | MCLA Trailblazers 11-9 (MASCAC 5-3)

HOW IT WENT DOWN

• For most of the first half of the game, it was a see-saw battle between the teams. MCLA's Craig Williams nailed a three-point basket with 7:45 left in the half to close within two points of the Owls at 21-19.
• Through the remainder of the half, the Trailblazers' offense went ice cold as they were outscored 22-6. During that less than eight-minute stretch, MCLA committed three turnovers and missed all nine shots from the field. All six points were secured at the free-throw line. Meanwhile, Westfield was completed eight of their 11 shots, including a perfect 3-3 performance from three-point land. The Owls took a 43-25 advantage into the halftime locker room.
• In the second half, the teams resorted to their patterns of the early portion of the game, with the Westfield lead growing to as many as 25 points before setting into oscillating between 15 and 20 points.
• The reigning back-to-back MASCAC Player of the Week, Quentin Gittens, led all scorers with 31 points as he scored 30 or more points for the fourth time this season, including the last two in a row. Gittens entered the night 19^th in all of DIII in free throw attempts and 20^th in free throws made and lived up to that billing with a perfect eight-for-eight effort at the line. Gittens also finished with a team-high 12 rebounds for his 11^th double-double of the year.
• MCLA's JoJo Garcia finished with 11 points and six rebounds, while Craig Williams also contributed 11 points in 26 minutes off the bench.
• A trio of Owls finished with double-digit points, led by 25 points from Juju Omot, while Brendon Hamilton recorded a double-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds. Angel Price-Espada rounded out the trio with 12 points while also dishing out five assists.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Field Goals / %: WSU 35-74 / 47.3%, MCLA 21-63 / 33.3%
• 3 Points / %: WSU 5-15 / 33.3%, MCLA 7-25 / 28%
• Free Throw / %: WSU 11-17 / 64.7%, MCLA 16-20 / 80%
• Rebounds: WSU 45, MCLA 39
• Points off Turnovers: WSU 9, MCLA 8
• Second Chance Points: WSU 21, MCLA 16
• Points in the Paint: WSU 56, MCLA 26
• Bench Points: WSU 25, MCLA 14

UP NEXT:

On Saturday, MCLA will be back in action when they play host to Bridgewater State for a MASCAC matchup with the Bears at the Amsler Campus Center Gymnasium. The teams will take the floor for a 2 p.m. tip-off.

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