WESTFIELD – Junior forward Grant Cooper (Northampton) had game highs of 16 points and 11 rebounds to lead a strong second-half effort by Westfield State University in a 71-57 victory over Regis College in non-conference men’s basketball Thursday, Nov. 21.
Westfield, 3-0, outscored Regis 47-27 in the second half, including a 19-5 advantage in the final six and a half minutes.
With the score tied for the ninth time and final time at 52-all, the Owls took the lead for good on a layup by senior reserve center Carl Stewart, who received a nice pass from Cooper.
Cooper followed with a free throw two minutes later, then converted a conventional 3-point play on a fast break layup for a 58-52 lead at the 4:16 mark. Jordan Santiago’s driving basket gave the Owls a 60-52 lead with 3:10 remaining.
Regis closed to within seven, 64-57, on a 3-point basket by Ahmad Charles, with 1:40 remaining. But the Owls scored the final seven points.
Regis College led at halftime, 30-24, following a foul-marred first-half in which 27 fouls were called. Each team only made eight field goals the first half, but Regis was 13 for 21 from the charity stripe while Westfield was 5 for 11.
The Owls led 11-4 five minutes into the game then stalled offensively and Regis went on an 8-0 run to take a 12-11 lead. The Pride took their biggest lead of the game, 28-21, with 1:17 left in the first half.
Sparked by five points apiece from guards Jesus Sanchez and Robby Jones, the Owls outscored the visitors 17-6 in the opening five minutes of the second half to take a 41-36 lead.
Jones scored 13 points off the bench in Westfield’s balanced attack and junior forward Dan Tessier tallied 10. Sanchez and Santiago scored nine points apiece.
Ryan Chambers scored a team-high 14 for Regis and Chris Leak Jr. posted a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Charles had 13 points and a game-high six assists.
The second half was a reversal of the first half as Westfield canned 14 of 22 free throws and Regis was only 1 for 4.
In another key statistic, Regis committed 29 turnovers as Westfield came up with 19 steals, including five by Tessier.
