Men’s Basketball Fall to Worcester State on Senior Day
MCLA wrapped up the regular season with a loss to Worcester State.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – The MCLA Men's Basketball Team entered the final game of their regular season locked in as the number four seed in the upcoming MASCAC playoffs, but they still had an opportunity to wreak havoc upon the Worcester State seeding, where a loss would leave them vulnerable to being passed by the idle Bridgewater State in the tie-breaking scenarios. The Trailblazer's Quentin Gittens led all scorers with 28 points, but the Lancers finished with a quartet of double-digit scorers, paced by Sam Dion with 25 points.
THE BASICS:
- Date: Saturday, February 17, 2024
- Score: Worcester State 100, MCLA 76
- Records: Worcester State Lancers 16-9 (MASCAC 10-2) | MCLA Trailblazers 13-11 (MASCAC 7-5)
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Worcester State went wire to wire in this game, never trailing and building a large first-half lead on the strength of Sam Dion, scoring 20 points before the intermission.
- A pair of MCLA's seniors marked their Senior Day celebration with scoring totals in double digits, led by 28 from Quentin Gittens and 14 from Kumar Lewis.
- Gittens finished with exactly 14 points in both the first and second halves and had a perfect eight for eight showing at the charity stripe in the first half. Gittens finished the regular season with a MASCAC-high 143 made free throws on 183 attempts, outpacing Worcester's Aaron Nkrumah (95-129) by almost 50 free throws.
- The Trailblazers' Mamadou Diallo made a triumphant return to the lineup on Senior Day, playing 26 minutes and gathering four rebounds in his first action since being injured in MCLA's home opener against Rivier on November 11, 2023.
- For the Lancers, four players crossed the double-digit scoring barrier, led by 25 points from Sam Dion and 19 points from Brandon Goris. Ryan Rubenskas recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 boards. Sam Davies rounded out the group with 10 points in 20 minutes off the bench.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
- Field Goals / %: WSU 39-66 / 59.1%, MCLA 23-72 / 31.9%
- 3 Points / %: WSU 10-22 / 45.5%, MCLA 10-28 / 35.7%
- Free Throw / %: WSU 12-15 / 80%, MCLA 20-25 / 80%
- Rebounds: WSU 36, MCLA 42
- Points off Turnovers: WSU 9, MCLA 4
- Second Chance Points: WSU 17, MCLA 24
- Points in the Paint: WSU 52, MCLA 16
- Bench Points: WSU 28, MCLA 25
UP NEXT:
On Tuesday, MCLA will be back in action when they play host to Salem State for a MASCAC playoff matchup with the Vikings at the Amsler Campus Center Gymnasium. The teams will take the floor for a 6 p.m. tip-off.
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