WESTFIELD, Mass. – Senior center Matt Devine had game highs of 23 points, 14 rebounds and seven blocked shots to lead Westfield State University to a hard-earned 70-65 victory over Salem State University on Saturday afternoon, Jan. 26.

The Owls moved into second place in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference with a 5-2 record; they are 15-4 overall. Salem is 4-3 and 12-7.

The first half was a game of huge scoring runs as the Owls bolted to a 23-point, 32-9 lead over sluggish Salem.

Salem then outscored Westfield, 16-2, in the final 4:42 of the first half to trail 34-25 at the intermission. Tavone Wynder sparked the Salem comeback with two 3-point baskets.

Westfield led by as many as 15 points, 54-39, with 10:25 remaining when the scrappy Salem squad mounted another comeback. Trailing 68-57 with 3:01 remaining, Salem scored eight straight points, including two Wynder jumpers, to close within three, 68-65, with 1:26 remaining.

This set the stage for the frantic final minute. Westfield's Grant Cooper missed the front end of a one-and-one with 46 seconds remaining. Salem then missed two 3-points attempts and Devine grabbed the rebound after the second miss and was fouled.

Devine also missed the front end of a one-and-one and Salem againe grabbed the rebound. But Westfield sophomore guard Jordan Santiago executed the play of the game as he stole the ball at the top of the key on Salem's offensive end with eight seconds remaining.

Lee Vazquez was quickly fouled and drained both free throws on a third consecutive one-and-one situation to secure the big victory.

Vazquez, who exploded for 38 points in Westfield's 82-55 victory at Fitchburg State on Tuesday, finished with 17 points and a game-high six assists.

Devine also stuffed the stat sheet with four assists, a steal, and a 10 for 13 shooting effort from the field. The 6-7 center from Pembroke, who led the nation in blocked shots last year, had five of his seven rejections in the first half.

Despite being saddled with foul trouble, Cooper played a solid game for the Owls with 15 points and four assists in 25 minutes of action. Santiago scored eight points and had a game-high six steals.

Justin Nieves led the Vikings with 19 points followed by Wynder and Bryan Ortiz with 15 and 12, respectively.

In a key stat, Westfield shot 54 percent from the field (31-57) despite making only 1 of 13 attempts from 3-point range. Salem shot 38 percent (23-60) and was 3 for 15 from beyond the arc.

The Vikings kept the game close by canning 16 of 22 free throws.