WESTFIELD, Mass. – Sophomore guard Lee Vazquez (Attleboro) led a balanced attack with 16 points and sophomore center Matt Devine (Pembroke) had 13 points, 13 rebounds and three blocked shots to lead Westfield State University to a 69-56 victory over MCLA on Thursday, Feb. 3.

Westfield improves to 4-3 in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) and 7-12 overall. MCLA suffered its second straight conference setback and is 5-2; the Trailblazers are 14-5 overall.

The Trailblazers only shot 29 percent from the field but they jumped out to an early 19-11 lead with 11:01 left in the first half. The Owls then went on an 11-0 run over a three-minute span to take a 22-19 lead. Westfield led at the intermission, 30-29.

Spurred by a solid inside-outside attack, the Owls took a 46-35 lead with 11:42 remaining in the game. MCLA pulled to within two points on three occasions – the final time at 50-48 with 5:27 remaining - but Westfield was able to maintain the lead.

The Owls then went on a 10-2 run to take a 62-52 lead with 1:12 remaining to clinch the key conference victory.

Also scoring in double figures for the Owls were senior forwards Jesse Benoit (Granby, MA) and Chris Jurkowski (Belchertown) with 11 points apiece. Freshman point guard Andrew Morgan (Somerset, NJ) played another steady floor game with seven points and seven assists and sophomore reserve forward Carl Stewart (Springfield/Commerce) finished with seven points and six rebounds. The Owls shot 42 percent from the field and had 18 assists on their 25 made field goals.

Senior center Jon Greenberg (19 points, 13 rebounds) and junior forward Jamal Brown of Springfield (10 points, 12 rebounds) posted double-doubles for MCLA.