WESTFIELD, Mass. – Junior guard Brendan Rios (Easthampton) scored 18 points and senior forward Dane Jobst (Athol/Mahar Regional) had 15 points and 13 rebounds to rally Worcester State University to a 69-66 comeback victory over Westfield State on Thursday, Jan. 23.

Worcester, which overcame a 12-point deficit with 12 minutes remaining, improves to 1-3 in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference and 4-12 overall. Westfield is 1-3 and 8-8.

The Lancers trailed by double digits in both halves but rallied for the road victory led by Rios and Jobst.

Jobst and Rios made back-to-back 3-point baskets to give Worcester State its first lead since early in the first half, a 57-56 advantage with 6:07 remaining.

Westfield junior forward Grant Cooper (Northampton), who scored a game-high 19 points, converted a layup to tie the score at 58-all with 4:55 remaining. Worcester took the lead for good, 60-58, on a Jobst putback with 4:38 remaining.

The Lancers led by as many as five points in the closing minutes, including a 67-62 lead with 1:20 remaining. The Owls, however, had two opportunities to tie the score in the final minute.

With the score 67-64, Westfield freshman guard Jesus Sanchez (Springfield) launched a 3-point attempt from the top of the key with 27 seconds remaining, but Rios made an excellent defensive play by timing his jump perfectly to block the shot.

After a Lancer free throw, Westfield cut the deficit to two, 68-66, on a Dan Tessier (Uxbridge) short jumper in the paint with seven seconds remaining.

Worcester freshman guard Noris Cuevas-Nova (Amherst) was fouled with 4.7 seconds remaining. He made the first throw but missed the second. Tessier got an open 3-point attempt from the right wing before the final buzzer but his shot hit the back iron, bounced to the top of the backboard then glanced off the front of the rim.

After trailing 11-10 midway through the first half, Westfield went on a 13-2 run to take a 23-13 lead, but Worcester pulled to within two, 30-28, at halftime.

The Owls led 40-34 with 13:39 remaining then scored six straight points to take their 12-point lead, 48-36, with 12:42 remaining. Their final double-digit lead was 50-39 with 11:10 remaining. The Lancers then scored seven straight points to quickly cut the deficit to four, 50-46, with 9:40 remaining. Consecutive threes by Rios and Cuevas-Nova keyed the scoring spurt.

Cuevas-Nova also played well with 16 points and seven rebounds. The Lancers shot 45 percent from the field, including 57 percent during their second-half comeback.

Worcester was 8 for 14 from 3-point range while Westfield was 6 for 21. Both teams struggled from the foul line. Worcester only shot 44 percent (15-34) from the charity stripe; Westfield shot 54 percent (18-33).

Cooper also had team highs of eight rebounds and four assists along with his game-high 19 points. Junior guard Robby Jones (Chicopee) scored 18 points and registered a game-high five steals; he was 5 for 8 from 3-point range. Sanchez scored 12 points.