Men's Basketball Secures Berth Into Conn College/Coast Guard Invitational Title Game

New London, CT --- Sophomore Paul Brooks (Arlington, MA) went 8-for-16 from the field and finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds as he helped pace Worcester State to a 58-51 triumph over Coast Guard in the first semifinal of the Connecticut College/Coast Guard Invitational on Saturday evening at Roland Hall.

The Lancers (2-4) move ahead to Sunday's title tilt where they will take on host Connecticut College at 4 o'clock.

The Bears (4-3) will try to even up their season record in the consolation game against St. Joseph's (Brooklyn) at 2 PM, which will also be played at Connecticut College. In the second semifinal matchup this evening at Coast Guard, the Camels fended off St. Joseph's, 60-54.

Senior Charles Gunter (Boston, MA/New Mission) also collected his first double-double of the campaign with 14 points and 11 rebounds as sophomore Jeremy Bacon (Milford, MA/Hopedale) chipped in with seven points and five boards off the pine for the visitors.

Leading the way for the hosts was junior Kevin Alvarez (Key Biscayne, FL) who was the lone player in double-figure scoring with 17 points and six caroms.

Senior David Anderson (Goose Creek, SC), junior Ryan McNeil (Plymouth, IN) and sophomore Adrian Chuquillangui (Manassas, VA) each notched eight points apiece for Coast Guard.

Worcester State led 16-7 around the midway point of the first half and opened up a 21-10 bulge with 7:33 remaining in the frame on the back of a trifecta by sophomore Austin Keeler (Holyoke, MA).

The Bears though chipped away at the deficit with a 17-7 spurt highlighted by three-pointers by Chuquillangui, Alvarez and senior Eli Sponseller (North Pole, AK) to trail 29-27 at the intermission.

Coast Guard took over the 34-31 margin on a jumper by Alvarez early in the second period to set the stage for a back-and forth second frame which saw the lead change hands five times and the score equalized on four occasions.

With the contest knotted at 48-48, Brooks helped the visitors take over the one-point margin with 7:37 on the clock when he sank the second of a two-shot foul.

After the Bears turned the ball over and missed two shots from the field, Gunter hit the first of another double-try opportunity at the charity strike to help WSU up their advantage to 50-48 with 5:22 remaining in regulation.

With just over three minutes to play, Rios stroked a pair of free throws and Brooks slammed home a dunk to help the Lancers balloon their lead to 54-48.

Sparked by a basket at the line by Alvarez and a lay-up by Anderson with 1:42 left, the Bears made it a one possession contest at 54-51, but the Blue and Gold hit three of their last four shots at the charity stripe and ran out the clock to seal up the win.

Worcester State finished with the 46-30 rebounding advantage, the 30-12 lead in the paint and a 22-0 edge in second chance opportunities. Despite only hitting 35 percent of their shots (20-for-57) and two of their 17 tries from downtown, the Lancers netted a 73 percent effort on free throws (16-for-22).

Coast Guard canned seven of their 18 bids from three point land (39 percent), but only hit 35 percent of their shots for the contest (18-for-51). The Bears bench outscored WSU's reserves, (27-15) and used seven swipes to turn 11 miscues by the visitors into a decisive 12-11 edge in points off of turnovers.