Springfield Upends Men's Basketball, 91-49

Springfield, MA --- Springfield senior Robbie Burke (Cheshire, MA) logged 17 points and 12 rebounds to help lead the Pride to a 91-49 victory over Worcester State in non-conference men's basketball action on Friday evening at the Blake Arena.

Springfield (7-2) was also paced by classmate Sean Martin (Rindge, NH) who tallied 13 points, five assists, five swipes and four boards in the victory.

Sophomore Josh Downes (E. Sandwich, MA) went 6-for-6 from the field en route to 15 points as junior Simon Kilday (Arlington, VA) and freshman Nick McKenna (Danvers, MA) both registered 12 points apiece for the Pride.

Junior Brendan Rios (Easthampton, MA) connected on seven of his 14 attempts with four treys to finish with a game-best 18 points in the setback for the Lancers. Senior Dane Jobst (Athol, MA) also missed out on his sixth double-double of the campaign with eight points and a team-high nine caroms.

Worcester State (1-9) pulled to within five on a trifecta by Rios just after the halfway point in the first half, but Springfield came right back and embarked on a 10-0 run over the next 4½ minutes for the 30-15 margin with 5:42 remaining. The Pride ended the stanza with the 44-24 margin at the break.

After nearly holding the Blue and Gold scoreless for the first eight minutes of play, Burke notched 12 of his points in the spurt for the Pride as they took over the 60-24 lead with 12:55 on the clock. Springfield cruised on ahead for the final score by outscoring the Lancers 47-25 in the second frame with nearly half of their points coming in the paint (26-8).

The Pride finished shooting 59 percent for the game (36-for-61) as they made nearly half of their shots from beyond the arc (47 percent – 8-for-17). The hosts also held margins in points off total rebounds (46-28), turnovers (20-13) and second-chance points (11-3) while the Lancers were ahead in offensive boards (11-9).

Both squads will resume their non-conference slate after the Christmas holiday. Worcester State heads to Regis for a 7 PM road matchup on Thursday, January 2 while Springfield hosts Lyndon State in the opening round of the Holiday Inn/Naismith Classic on Friday, January 3.

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