Westfield freshman guard Jesus Sanchez applies heavy defensive pressure. The Owls played exceptional defense in the second half when they outscored Framingham, 47-20. Photo by Mickey Curtis
WESTFIELD – Junior forward Grant Cooper and freshman guard Jesus Sanchez tied for game-high honors with 16 points to rally Westfield State to a resounding 68-49 comeback victory over Framingham State in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference men’s basketball opener on Thursday, Jan. 9.
Westfield, which outscored Framingham, 40-14, in the final 15 minutes after a sluggish first half, improves to 8-4 overall and 1-0 in the MASCAC. Framingham drops to 4-8 and 0-1.
It was a tale of two halves for the Owls, who trailed 29-21 at the break. Westfield did hold a 17-16 lead but the final 10 minutes of the first half were disastrous for the Owls as they were outscored 13-4.
Westfield finally began clicking on both ends of the court in the second half. Trailing 35-28, the Owls went on a 13-0 run for a 41-35 lead with 12:51 remaining. Dan Tessier keyed the comeback with a 3-point basket at the beginning and end of the key scoring spurt.
The teams traded baskets over the next six minutes then Westfield went on a 9-0 run to take a 58-44 lead with 4:27 remaining. Keying the scoring spurt were guards Robby Jones and Sanchez and reserve forward Tchuijo Nkamebo, who blocked two shots.
As poorly as the Owls shot in the first half (27 percent), the Rams’ shooting was even more dismal in the second half when they made only 5 of 27 field goal attempts (18 percent).
In addition to his 16 points, Cooper contributed six rebounds, seven assists and three steals. Jones had 12 points and three steals and Tessier totaled 10 points, six assists and four steals. Senior center Carl Stewart scored seven points and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.
Freshman guard Charles Collins was the only Framingham player in double figures with 10 points. George Jordan (9 points, 7 rebounds) and Daniel Gould (9 points, 5 rebounds, 4 steals) also paced the Rams.
