Lancers Defeat Salve Regina 63-55 in First Win of Season

WORCESTER, Mass. – Worcester State University's freshman guard Cal Howes (Maynard, Mass.) netted a career-high 17 points in the Lancers' 63-55 win over the visiting Seahawks of Salve Regina University Saturday (Dec. 10) afternoon inside the Lancer Gymnasium.

This marks the Lancers first win of the 2016-17 campaign as they snap an eight-game losing streak and move to 1-8 on the season. With the loss, the Seahawks drop to 3-6 on the season.

Howes drained four of eight triples, netted a basket, and chipped in three free throw shots for a game-high 17 points. He shot 50 percent from both the field and from 3-point range. Worcester State saw eight points apiece from Corey Gatta (Sturbridge, Mass.), Ryan DiBernardo (Springfield, Mass.), Aaron Anniballi (Milford, Mass.), and Mickey Lyons (Burlington, Mass.). Leading the Lancers on the boards were DiBernardo and Lyons with five each. Gatta marked a game-high four assists, while Jamal Mustapha (Worcester, Mass.) and Jeremy Bacon (Milford, Mass.) registered three steals each.

Leading the Seahawks' offense was the trio of Nicholas Bates (Danvers, Mass.), Rodney Morton (Malden, Mass.), and Isaiah Bowman (Roxbury, Mass.) who all netted 14 points apiece. Bates marked a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds, leading Salve Regina on the boards. Bowman swished four of five 3-point shots to mark an 80 percent 3-point field goal percentage.

The first five minutes of play saw three ties until Salve Regina's Bowman marked three back-to-back triples to up their score to 14-9 with 11:12 remaining in the first half. The Seahawks' Morton made a jumper to add two more to the scoreboard for their largest lead of the game (7) with 8:53 on the clock.

The Lancers then went on a 7-2 run to close the gap in at two. Salve Regina kept their lead until Worcester State propelled a 16-6 run, including back-to-back three's from Anniballi and Howes, in the last four minutes of the half to take the 32-28 advantage at the break.

The Lancers added to their lead in the first four minutes of the second half when they scored 12 unanswered points to mark up the scoreboard 43-28. Salve Regina responded with a lead themselves, as they went on a 12-0 run in the next four minutes to put the score at 40-43, still in the Lancers' favor.

The teams went back-and-forth until Worcester sparked an eight point lead with a minute remaining following buckets from Gatta and three back-to-back triples from Howes. Salve Regina made things interesting with 54 seconds remaining when Bowman connected on a three to cut their setback to five. However, the Lancers were able to maintain possession of the ball and forced the Seahawks to foul which led to three additional points for the Lancers at the line to seal the 63-55 victory.

The Lancers outshot the Seahawks in all shooting categories with a 42.3% field goal percentage, a 38.9% 3-point field goal percentage, and 75% from the stripe. Despite the loss, Salve Regina outrebounded the Lancers 34-29.

Next up, the Lancers host Western Connecticut State University on Tuesday (Dec. 13) in a 7:00 p.m. matchup. The Seahawks will take a break and return to action on Jan. 3.