WESTFIELD, MA – Westfield State's Vawn Lord (West Springfield, MA/ Amherst) led Westfield State with 20 points as the Owls defeated the Bridgewater State Bears 99-71 in a MASCAC conference men's basketball matchup at the Woodward Center on Wednesday evening.

Lord finished 7-11 from the floor and 4-5 from three-point range.

Jauch Green, Jr. (Hartford, CT) added 19 points, Justin Rennis (Springfield, MA) gave an impressive performance putting up 12 points along with five rebounds and four steals. Malik Pouncy (Mattapan, MA) added 14 points to the Owls victory.

The Owls opened the first half in dominating fashion, as trailing 2-0, the Owls went on a 15-0 run, started off with a Vawn Lord three-pointer.

Westfield led Bridgewater 46-29 at halftime, and took a commanding lead late in the game by as many as 30 points after a three-pointer made by freshman Brendan Keaveny (Quincy, MA), with 1:16 left to play.

Westfield State's record improved to 16-7 overall and 8-2 MASCAC while Bridgewater State falls to 8-13 and 5-4 MASCAC.  Westfield takes a half-game lead over Worcester State in the MASCAC standings with the win. The Owls have two regular-season games remaining.

The Westfield State defense shut down the Bears, limiting Bridgewater to 36 percent shooting from the field, while the Owls collected 33 defensive rebounds and forcing Bridgewater to make 19 turnovers.

Bridgewater's effort was supported by senior Rayshon Ward (Fayetteville, NC) with 17 points. He was a perfect 8-8 from the free throw line and contributed ten rebounds for the Bears. Teammate Ryan Carney (Easton, MA) added 16 points and three assists, and Dimitri St. Louis (Brockton, MA) provided 13 points with five rebounds.

The Owls return to action on Wednesday February 19 as they travel to Salem State. Tip off is set for 7:00 PM. Bridgewater State will return home this Saturday as they host the Fitchburg State Falcons at 3:00 PM.

-- written by Jacob Solomons, sports information intern