Men's Basketball Falls To MCLA In MASCAC Opener

Worcester, MA --- MCLA junior Jeremic Bennett (Albany, NY) highlighted four players in double-figures with a team-highs of 19 points and seven rebounds as he helped pace the Trailblazers to an 83-77 victory over Worcester State men's basketball action this evening at WPI's Harrington Auditorium.

MCLA (3-10, 1-1 MASCAC) was also led by senior John Jones (Worcester, MA/South) who tallied 16 points, six boards and a trio of swipes while senior Roman Viches (Boston, MA/Malden) and junior Ruben Delrosario (Springfield, MA/Cathedral) added 15 and 13 points, respectively.

Bennett finished 5-for-11 from the field which included a 4-for-5 line from downtown to help the visitors pour in a 61 percent effort from beyond the arc (11-for-18).

The Lancers (3-10, 0-1 MASCAC) had a monster game from senior Dane Jobst (Athol, MA) who put-up game highs of 24 points and 16 boards.

Freshman Paul Brooks (Arlington, MA) also registered his second double-double of the campaign with 14 points and 10 boards as junior Brendan Rios (Easthampton, MA) tossed in 12 points. Sophomore Manny Cabral (Roslindale, MA) also dished out a contest-best five assists.

Both squads shot well from the field as the Trailblazers almost connected on half of their bids for the game (49 percent – 26-for-53) and the Blue and Gold nearly matched (46 percent – 28-for-61).

However, the two teams did not fare well at the free throw line. The Lancers only sank 17 of their 38 tries at the charity stripe (45 percent) while the visitors missed 12 shots themselves (20-for-32 – 63 percent).

Worcester State finished with the margin in total rebounds (45-33), offensive boards (20-9) and second-chance points (17-7). MCLA led in points off turnovers (18-10) and bench scoring (20-18).

Both squads resume their schedules with MASCAC opponents on Tuesday at 7:30. Worcester State travels east to face-off against Salem State while MCLA hosts Fitchburg State.

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