HARTFORD, Conn. – Junior guard Lee Vazquez had game highs of 26 points and six steals to lead Westfield State University to an 80-64 victory over Rivier College (Nashua, NH) in the opening round of the Trinity College tournament on Thursday, Dec. 29.
 
Westfield boosted its record to 8-4 and will play Trinity College in the championship game on Friday at 4:00 p.m. There will be live video stream and live stats for the championship game.
 
Westfield controlled the tempo with its ball-hawking defense. The Owls cause 28 Rivier turnovers, including 18 in the second half.
 
Westfield jumped out to an early 23-9 lead with a 10-0 run and took its biggest lead, 38-19, on back-to-back 3-point baskets by Vazquez. The Owls led at halftime, 42-25, paced by Vazquez (15 points) and backcourt mate Travis Nally (10 points).
 
The Owls had their own difficult holding onto the ball (22 turnovers, including 13 in the second half) as Rivier rallied to pull within four points, 50-46, on an old fashioned 3-point play by Emmanuel Smith with 12 minutes remaining. But Westfield regrouped, scoring seven straight points for a 57-46 lead with 10:04 remaining. Keying the 7-0 spurt were senior forward Steinnhard Renaud (two lay-ins) and junior guard Mike Moynihan (3-point basket).
 
Disrupting Rivier with its full-court pressure defense, Westfield held double-digit leads the rest of the game.
 
OWL HOOTS: Westfield shot 52 percent from the field, including 62 percent (8-13) from 3-point range…Westfield was 18 for 29 from the foul line, including a 12-for-20 effort the second half when they were in the double bonus situation (10 Rivier fouls) with nine minutes remaining…Nally finished with 12 points and Matt Devine had 12 points and team highs of 11 rebounds and five assists…11 players scored for the Owls...Tom Poitras was Rivier's only player in double figures with 23 points…Moynihan was in the starting lineup and played 24 minutes with four assists and four steals…the Owls recorded 20 steals…Rivier's record is 1-7…River will play Elmira (NY) College in the consolation game. Trinity routed Elmira in the other first-round matchup.