#6 Fitchburg State Falls At #3 Westfield State, 87-71
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Fitchburg St. (13-12) | 27 | 44 | 71 |
|
Westfield St. (16-10) | 35 | 52 | 87 |
Owls advance to MASCAC semifinals; travel to Bridgewater State on Thursday night
WESTFIELD, Mass. (February 21, 2012) – Sixth-seeded Fitchburg State suffered a season-ending loss to third-seeded Westfield State, falling 87-71 to the Owls in MASCAC Men's Basketball quarterfinal action this evening.
With the victory, Westfield State (16-10, 7-5 MASCAC) advances to the semifinal round of the MASCAC Tournament and will travel to second-seeded Bridgewater State on Thursday evening. Fitchburg State concludes its season with an overall record of 13-12 and a 4-8 clip in the MASCAC.
Fitchburg State junior forward Tom Henneberry (Lexington, Mass./Lexington) posted a double-double with 16 points and ten rebounds to lead the Falcons offense, while classmate Brandon Selby (Baltimore, Md./Joppatowne) collected 14 points on the night. Junior center Zach Valliere (Douglas, Mass./Douglas) added eight points and a game-high 12 rebounds for the visitors.
For the Owls, junior Lee Vasquez (Attleboro, Mass./Attleboro) had game highs of 26 points and six assists, while freshman forward Grant Cooper (Northampton, Mass./Northampton) totaled 21 points, eight rebounds, five assists and five steals. Junior center Matt Devine (Pembroke) finished with 14 points, nine rebounds and four blocks for the hosts.
Westfield State led the entire tournament game, taking its biggest lead of the first half, 20-10, on a high-flying dunk by senior Ryan DeLosa (Leeds, N.Y.). The scrappy Falcons battled back to tie the score at 27-27 ,but the Owls finished with an 8-0 run in the final 2:19 of the first half to take a 35-27 lead at the break.
The Owls led by double digits for most of the second half and took its biggest lead of 18 points, 67-49, following two Vazquez free throws. Draining six of its eight 3-point baskets in the second half, Fitchburg State closed to within eight points twice in the closing minutes but Westfield State survived the comeback attempt, ending the game with a 13-2 run.
For the contest, the Owls shot 47 percent from the field and shot well from the foul line (74 percent), canning 25 of 34 attempts. The Falcons finished just 32.4% from the floor and fell victim to just 8-of-32 shooting from three point range for the game.