WESTFIELD – Westfield State University’s men’s basketball team will be the #5 seed in the upcoming Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament, and the Owls will play a first-round game at #4 seed Fitchburg State on Tuesday, February 20 at 7:00 p.m.
The league announced the matchups late on Sunday. Westfield finished fifth in the regular–season standings with a 5-7 mark in league play and an 11-14 record overall.
Fitchburg (11-14, 6-6 MASCAC) finished in a third-place tie with Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, but the Falcons drop to the four seed via a tie-breaker.
Salem State, 12-0 in the league and 22-3 overall, is the tourney’s top seed and receives a first-round bye, awaiting the Owls-Falcons winner for a Thursday semifinal matchup.
Westfield and Fitchburg were separated by just three points in the two games between the two teams. The Falcons rallied for a 65-63 win in Fitchburg, then defeated the Owls 77-76 in Westfield last week.
Westfield is led by junior forward Marcus Collins (Cambridge Rindge and Latin/Cambridge, Mass.). The 6-4 post leads the team with 15.5 points and 9.9 rebounds per game. Collins gets scoring support from sophomore guard Moody Bey, who is averaging 12.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game, along with junior guard Peter Mafo (Lynn Classical/Lynn, Mass.) adds 11.1 points and leads the team in assists.
Fitchburg State features a balanced attack led by guards Jonathan Perez (Lowell, Mass.) and Nicholas Tracy (Indianapolis, Ind.). Perez checks in at 14.2 points and five rebounds per game, and Tracy has added 10 points per game.
The other side of the conference bracket has #3 MCLA hosting #6 Framingham on Tuesday, with the winner travelling to #2 Bridgewater State for a semifinal match up on Thursday.
The Championship game will be played at the site of the highest remaining seed on Saturday, with the tournament winner receiving the MASCAC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. – Courtesy of Westfield State University Sports
2017-18 Westfield State University Men’s Basketball Team
