WESTFIELD, Mass. – Regis College held a six point lead at halftime but could not hang on as Westfield State University rallied to defeat the Pride, 71-57, in non-conference men's basketball action Thursday night.
Westfield (3-0) outscored Regis (1-3) 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 Grant 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 (Cambridge, Mass.), with 1:40 remaining. But the Owls scored the final seven points of the game for the 71-57 win.
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 in the period, 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.
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. 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.
WSU's Grant Cooper led the Owls with game highs of 16 points and 11 rebounds for the home team. 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 (Abington, Mass.) scored a team-high 14 for Regis and Chris Leak Jr. (New Haven, Conn.) posted his first career double-double with a career-best 12 points and 11 rebounds. Charles had 13 points and a game-high six assists as well. Jordan Monts (Springfield, Mass.) came off the bench to post six points and 10 rebounds.
The Pride host Wheaton College on Saturday afternoon in a 1:00 p.m. non-league game.
Release courtesy of Westfield State University Sports Information