WESTFIELD, Mass. – Junior guard Lee Vazquez (Attleboro) had game highs of 26 points and six assists, and freshman forward Grant Cooper (Northampton) totaled 21 points, eight rebounds, five assists and five steals to lead Westfield State University to an 87-71 victory over Fitchburg State University in the quarterfinals of the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) men's basketball tournament on Tuesday, Feb. 21.
 
The No. 3 seed Owls (16-10) advance to the MASCAC tournament semifinals and will play at No. 2 seed Bridgewater State on Thursday at 7:00. No. 6 seed Fitchburg finishes with a 13-12 overall record.
 
Fitchburg posted a resounding 90-74 home victory over Westfield in the regular season finale this past Saturday, but the Owls were prepared for the postseason.
 
"We came to play and we just had more energy," Westfield head coach Rich Sutter simply said.
 
Westfield, which did defeat Fitchburg, 84-59, in the first half of league play, led the entire tournament game. The Owls took their biggest lead of the first half, 20-10, on a high-flying dunk by senior Ryan DeLosa (Leeds, N.Y.). The scrappy Falcons battled back to tie the score at 27-27, but the Owls finished with an 8-0 run in the final 2:19 of the first half to take a 35-27 lead at the break. Cooper sparked the mini-run with four points.
 
Westfield led by double digits for most of the second half and took its biggest lead of 18 points, 67-49, following two Vazquez free throws. Draining six of its eight 3-point baskets in the second half, Fitchburg closed to within eight points twice in the closing minutes but Westfield survived the comeback attempt. The Owls ended the game with a 13-2 run in the final 1:08.
 
The vaunted Owl defense, which leads the NCAA Division III in field goal shooting defense, held the Falcons to 32 percent shooting. Fitchburg was 8-for-32 from 3-point range.
 
Westfield shot 47 percent from the field and again shot well from the foul line (74 percent), canning 25 of 34 attempts. The Owls forced 20 Falcons turnovers and also moved the ball well with 18 assists on their 29 made field goals.
 
Also playing well in Westfield's balanced attack were junior center Matt Devine (Pembroke) with 14 points, nine rebounds and four blocks. Devine ranks first nationally in blocked shots. Ryan White, a 6-6 junior forward from Philadelphia, Pa., continued his steady play with eight points, eight rebounds, five assists and five steals. Reserve guard Travis Nally (Melrose) came of the bench to score 12 points.
 
Fitchburg Junior forward Tom Henneberry (Lexington) posted a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Junior forward Brandon Selby (Baltimore, Md.) had 14 points and 6-8 junior center Zach Valliere (Douglas) had eight points and a game-high 12 rebounds.