Men’s Basketball Conquered by Westfield, 89-69

WESTFIELD, Mass. – The MCLA Men's Basketball team traveled to Westfield State this evening for a MASCAC matchup at the Woodward Center. The Owls were less than hospitable hosts to the Trailblazers, breaking out to an early lead and then never let MCLA back into the game. Westfield's Kenneth Rogers, Jr. led all scorers with 21 points, while the Trailblazers' Craig Williams paced the visitors with 16 points.

THE BASICS:

• Date: Wednesday, February 5, 2025
• Score: MCLA 69, Westfield State 89
• Records: MCLA Trailblazers 4-16 (MASCAC 2-6) | Westfield State University Owls 17-4 (MASCAC 7-1)

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Westfield State jumped out early. Other than the 19 seconds at the start of the game that it took the Owls to score the first basket, and the eight seconds that the game was tied at 3-3 after graduate student forward Jackson Brown (Latham, NY) drained a three-pointer, the hosts led for 39 minutes and 33 seconds of the 40 minute game.
• Another three from Brown with just under 15 minutes left in the first half would get MCLA within a single point at 11-10, only to see Westfield responded with a four minute long 10-0 run. From there the lead grew to as much as 17 before going into the locker room with the Owls ahead 43-30.
• The second half played out much like the first with Westfield continuing to pull away, powered by 14 second half points from Kenneth Rogers, Jr. and 10 points in 12 second half minutes off the bench by A. Z. Allah.
• Rogers led all scorers with a game-high 21 points. For MCLA, junior guard Craig Williams (Dover, DE) just missed a double-double, finishing with a team-high 16 points, and a game-high nine rebounds.
• Senior guard JoJo Garcia (Henderson, NV) added 15 points, while Brown added 13 points. Senior guard Quentin Gittens (Pittsfield, MA) had 10 points, all scored in second half to round out the quartet of Trailblazers with double-digit point totals.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Field Goals / %: MCLA 22-62 / 35.5%, Westfield 30-61 / 49.2%
• 3 Points / %: MCLA 9-35 / 25.7%, Westfield 5-17 / 29.4%
• Free Throw / %: MCLA 16-21 / 76.2%, Westfield 24-31 / 77.4%
• Rebounds: MCLA 41, Westfield 30
• Points off Turnovers: MCLA 10, Westfield 27
• Second Chance Points: MCLA 23, Westfield 4
• Points in the Paint: MCLA 24, Westfield 50
• Bench Points: MCLA 13, Westfield 45

UP NEXT:

On Saturday, MCLA will be back in action when it travels to Bridgewater State at the Adrian Tinsley Center for a MASCAC matchup with the Bears. The tip-off is scheduled for noon.

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