Westfield, Mass. - December 13, 2019 - The Springfield College men's basketball team used a strong second-half performance to surge past Westfield State, 80-67, on Friday night in non-conference play.
The Pride, which was ranked No. 21 in the latest D3hoops.com National Poll, bounced back from its first loss of the season to close out the first semester with an 8-1 record. The Owls slipped to 7-4 on the season.
Jake Ross (Northampton, Mass.) put together another impressive outing for the Pride as he netted 30 points to go along with 13 rebounds, five assists, four blocks, and three steals in 37 minutes of action. Trey Witter (Unionville, Conn.) was a huge boost off the bench with 16 points and Collin Lindsay (East Longmeadow, Mass.) registered 10 second-half points. Springfield shot 28-for-73 (38.4%) for the game, which was bolstered by a 19-for-34 (55.9%) effort in the second half. The Pride finished the game with a 53-42 edge on the glass.
After two free throws from Ross pulled Springfield within 17-16 midway through the first half, the host Owls put together a 9-0 burst over the next four-plus minutes to open up a 26-16 edge. A triple from Witter would bring the Pride within 30-24 with 3:20 on the clock, only to have Westfield finish the half strong and take a 37-28 edge into the break.
Facing a 48-39 deficit with 14:47 left in regulation, Ross and Witter would combine for nine-straight points to even the game up at 48-all. Springfield would continue to pour on the offensive pressure, getting three-straight triples from Sam Dion (Barre, Mass.), Lindsay, and Ross to cap off what would amount to an 18-4 run over a 3:09 span, which allowed the Pride to take a 57-52 cushion. After Westfield made it a 65-62 game with 6:32 on the clock, Ross knocked down a jumper to kickstart a 15-5 game-sealing run as the Pride won for the eighth time this season.
Springfield will next play on January 3 when it serves as host for the Hampton Inn West Springfield/Naismith Classic, which will feature No. 4 Middlebury, Bridgewater State, and Colby-Sawyer.
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