Mar 03, 2013
WESTFIELD, Mass. – Senior center Matt Devine had game highs of 19 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks to pace five Westfield State University starters in double figures scoring as the Owls posted an 88-72 win over Castleton State College in the ECAC New England Division III men's basketball semifinals at the Woodward Center on Saturday afternoon, March 2.
Top-seeded Westfield advances to Sunday's ECAC title game and will host third-seeded Eastern Connecticut State University, a 77-65 winner over Anna Maria College in Saturday's other semifinal.
The victory was Westfield's 23rd of the year, setting a school record for wins, breaking the mark set in 1992-93.
Westfield used its patented trapping defense to force 24 Castleton turnovers, and the Owls used their height advantage, as the 6-7 Devine, 6-6 Ryan White (17 points, 6 rebounds) and Grant Cooper (14 points, 5 rebounds) consistently scored points in the paint for the Owls.
Westfield led 37-34 at the intermission, fueled by the strong inside play of Cooper, who had 12 first-half points, and eight each from White and Devine.
Westfield (23-5) used a 12-5 spurt out of the intermission to grab a double-figure lead, 49-39, on a steal and layup by Jordan Santiago with 16:17 left.
Westfield built its lead as big as 14 points on a Devine dunk with 11:42 left in regulation.
Castleton hung tough for the next five minutes minutes, whittling the lead back down to nine with 7:07 to play before Westfield was able to open up the final margin of victory.
Santiago finished with 12 points for Westfield, and senior guard Lee Vazquez added 18 for the Owls. Vazquez moves into fourth place on the Owls all-time scoring list with 1560 points, passing Owls' hall of famer Don Farr '57. Vazquez is just 15 points shy of tying Jim Bruno '91 for third on the career list.
In addition, Devine now has 1269 career points, moving into ninth place on the all-time charts. Devine leads the nation in blocked shots for the second straight year.
Castleton jumped out to a 15-4 lead in the first 2:59 of the game on a three-pointer by Logan White.
With the Spartans holding a 26-16 lead with 7:12 left in the half, Westfield went on a 15-4 run of its own spurred by a Dan Tessier three-pointer to start. The Owls grabbed their first lead of the game, 31-30 on a pair of free throws by Santiago with 1:53 left in the first half.
Castleton ends its season at 17-13. The Spartans were paced by 19 from Logan White, and got 14 from senior forward Mark Comstock, who was limited after picking up three first-half fouls and eventually fouled out with five minutes left in the game.
In the nightcap Chris Robitaille led Eastern (21-8) with 22 points and 17 rebounds. The Warriors led 37-35 at the half and gradually pulled away throught the second half. Mike Garrow added 21 and Brian Salzillo 17.
Anthony Click led Anna Maria with 21 points, while Brad Peterson added 14 and Javier Bristol 10. The Amcats season is complete with a 21-9 overall record.