WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State's Vawn Lord (West Springfield, Mass.) recorded 26 points in dominating fashion as the Owls defeated Worcester State 97-87 in a MASCAC men's basketball matchup at the Woodward Center Wednesday evening.

Lord finished 9-14 from the floor with a perfect 7-7 at the free throw line.

Teammate Marcus Collins (Cambridge, Mass.) contributed immensely with 21 points shooting 9-13 from the floor with six rebounds, while support from senior Moody Bey (Springfield, Mass.) provided 11 points with six assists. Sophomore Joseph Meade (Westfield, Mass.) set the tone early with all nine of his points in the first half, and finished with eight rebounds and five total assists.

Westfield State's record improved to 14-7 overall and 6-2 MASCAC while Worcester State falls to 9-11 and 5-2 MASCAC.   Westfield takes over sole possession of second place in the MASCAC, a half-game ahead of Worcester.

Worcester led 43-41 at the half.

Westfield held a 71-70 lead after Worcester's Zion Hendrix scored on a layup with 8:26 to play.   Westfield took command of the game, using a 16-3 run to lead 87-73 on a Collins layup with 4:12 left in the game.  Collins scored nine of the Owls points in that span.

Worcester State's effort was led by Erik Bjorn (Holden, Mass./Wachussett) , as he collected 22 points and 14 rebounds with 10-18 shooting on the floor.  Corey Olivier (Maynard, Mass.) added 20 points, and Chris Cardoso (Jamaica Plain, Mass./Natick)  finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

The Lancers will return home this Saturday as they host Framingham State at 3:00 pm, while the Owls will be back in action this Saturday as they travel to Fitchburg State with a 2:00 pm tip off.

-- written by Jacob Solomons, Sports Information Intern