Men's Basketball Falls to Westfield State, 78-70

WESTFIELD, Mass. – The Bridgewater State University men's basketball team dropped a 78-70 decision to host Westfield State University in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) contest on Saturday afternoon at the Woodward Center.

Junior guards Jesus Sanchez (Springfield, Mass.) and Jose Allen (Amherst, Mass.) scored 16 points each to lead the Owls who improve to 8-9 on the season and 3-2 in the MASCAC.

After being saddled with early foul trouble, Sanchez scored 13 of his 16 points after the break to lead the Owls to the victory in a rematch of last year's MASCAC championship game.

Junior guard Fawaz Mass (Taunton, Mass.) finished with 22 points and eight rebounds to lead the Bears (6-11, 2-3 MASCAC). Mass also added a blocked shot and a pair of steals.

Westfield led by double digits much of the second half and pushed its lead to 12 points on a layup by senior center Brian Foley (Worcester, Mass.) with just over two minutes remaining, but Bridgewater made a late charge by forcing turnovers with its full court pressure.

Bears' junior forward Greg Romanko (Mansfield, Mass.) canned a three-pointer to cut the Owls lead to four with 30 seconds left. After Allen sunk two free throws at the other end of the floor, Romanko had another good look at a triple with 18 seconds left, but the ball rattled around the rim and out, as Westfield held on for the win.

With Sanchez on the bench in the first half, Westfield initially struggled to find easy scoring, but 12 first-half Bridgewater turnovers led to easy opportunities for the Owls on the other end.

Two steals by sophomore forward Evan Hopson (North Providence, RI) led to transition jumpers for Allen, which sparked the Owls offense and pushed the lead to ten before Romanko swished a rainbow three at the buzzer to send Bridgewater into the break trailing 32-25.

Mass opened the second half on fire, scoring seven quick points for the Bears, including a jumper with 16:47 remaining which cut the deficit to two, 36-34. That would be as close as the Bears would get as the Owls pushed the lead back into double digits.

Westfield's lead fluctuated between eight and 12 points for much of the second half before Bridgewater made the late push.

Romanko, sophomore guard Rocky DeAndrade (Mansfield, Mass.) and junior guard Patrick McGuiness (New City, NY) each had 10 points for Bridgewater State.

The Bears shot 41 percent from the field and nailed seven three-pointers, but committed 18 turnovers on the evening.

Westfield outscored Bridgewater, 38-24, in the paint, relying on the post play of Sanchez, Foley, and junior Shane Pasquantonio (Ashland, Mass.). Pasquantonio chipped in 9 points and three rebounds, while freshman Peter Mafo (Lynn, Mass.) added 10 points.

The Owls host Worcester State on Wednesday, January 27 at 7:30 p.m. in their next MASCAC matchup. Bridgewater State looks to rebound against MCLA, as they host the Trailblazers on Wednesday, January 27 at 7:30 p.m.