Westfield State’s Malik Pouncy hit five 3-pointers to help spark the Owls’ semifinal win over Salem State. (WESTFIELD STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS PHOTO)
WESTFIELD – Vawn Lord, Jauch Green, Jr. and Malik Pouncy each scored more than 20 points for Westfield State as the top-seeded Owls ran past #5 Salem State, 102-74 in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference men’s basketball semifinal game at Woodward Center on Thursday night.
With the win, Westfield State (19-7) advances to Saturday’s championship game to host #2 Worcester State at 1:00 p.m. at the Woodward Center.
Westfield jumped out to a 13-0 lead less than three minutes into the game, winding up the crowd on a dunk from Brendon Hamilton to help spark the run. From there, Westfield State offered a barrage of three pointers, as Pouncy came off the bench hot, hitting his first four triples to extend the lead to 32-7.
Westfield led 52-35 at the half.
Salem briefly sparked interest in the second half, getting back-to-back three-pointers from Patrick Bugler and Chris McDonald that trimmed the Westfield lead to 11 at 52-41 prompting a timeout from Westfield State coach Rich Sutter.
Lord answered Sutter’s call with a driving layup, and then a conventional three-point play to extend the lead back to 14, and Westfield held a comfortable lead the rest of the way.
Lord added to a tremendous season with 24 points, nine rebounds and three assists, Green finished with 24 points, five steals and three assists, and Pouncy finished 5-9 from long range in adding 22 points. Hamilton finished with 14 rebounds.
Salem was led by junior guard Alex De La Rosa who scored 29 points, and senior Hakeem Animashaun, who fouled out with 16 points and 13 rebounds. The Vikings season draws to a close at 6-21 overall.
Westfield finished 28-44 from the foul line in the game compared to 16-25 for the Vikings. The Owls shot 33-69 (47.8 pct) from the floor and 8-18 (44.4 pct.) from three point range.
Westfield advances to the MASCAC championship game for the second straight season. The Owls last MASCAC championship was won in the 2014-15 season when they topped Bridgewater State in the title game.
The Owls and Worcester State have met on two occasions in the regular season, where they each secured one victory. In the first matchup, the Owls were defeated by Worcester 84-81 on the road. The second matchup resulted in a Westfield State victory at home with a score of 97-87.
#2 Worcester advances to the championship game with a 96-72 win over #3 MCLA tonight. – Courtesy of Westfield State University Sports
