Worcester, MA-The Worcester State Men's Basketball started their second game of the season in decisive fashion on Friday night. Nearly halfway through the first half the Lancers had already developed a 25-point lead over Hunter in the first game of the Wheaton College Tip-Off Classic. Worcester State started their season early Tuesday morning when they took number 8 seeded WPI to the final buzzer in their season opener.
The first half was a dominant success for the blue and gold as they racked up over 50 points in the first half. Hunter was cold shooting to start, and the Lancers capitalized off rebound opportunities to quickly transition the ball down the court for quick points in the transition. Junior Ryan Rubenskas (Bridgewater, MA) started the scoring early with a quick layup that was followed under a minute later with a crisp 3 pointer by senior Zion Hendrix (Charlotte, NC) and layup from junior Sam Dion (Barre, MA) to get the Lancers off and scoring. Worcester State went on a 6-minute run resulting in 24 unanswered points.
While Hunter started lackluster the Lancers were on fire, making 25 of 42 field goals and 5 of 12 three pointers with 15 defensive rebounds, preventing Hunter from building their way back into the game for most of the first. The Lancers would pull from deep on their bench as they work to develop their team rhythm on the court. The Lancers were not foul free in the first half but played a remarkably clean half with only four fouls, which further limited Hunter's ability to find and maintain momentum. A late high court press from Hunter in the final four minutes of the first, saw them begin to close the gap between the two teams and bring the game to within 19 points but Worcester was able to work around the pressure and capitalize on some loose play from Hunter to maintain the lead.
Worcester State ultimately recorded 7 steals and forced Hunter into 16 turnovers during the first 20 minutes to dominate the play and head into halftime with 57 points already on the board.
The start of the second saw each team more settled with balanced scoring, Hunter managed to keep the game within the 20-point range for most of the half, with each team matching each other point for point. Hunter again managed to attempt to close the gap, setting up a big press in the 12th minute of action. The Lancers were quick to move the ball around the court with the defensive pressure high and minimal room for action was provided. The quick passing and thinking on the court quickly neutralized the pressure and Hunter ultimately had to pull back as Worcester State cracked their code. A solid block by graduate student Erik Bjorn (Holden, MA) shifted the momentum back into the Lancers favor for the final 10 minutes of action, which saw Worcester State build back their lead to 23 points. The final minutes of the game saw Hunter attempt to climb their way back into this game but Worcester State played as one defensive unit. The Lancers took home the final victory after breaking triple digits with a final score of 111-94.
The Lancers finished with five players in double digit scoring, Bjorn led the night a rebound shy of a double with 14 points and nine rebounds, while Rubenskas had a team high 22 points in the game on seven rebounds. First year Aaron Nkrumah (Worcester, MA) finished the night with 21 points and seven rebounds while fellow teammates Dion, 16 points, and Hendrix, 15 points, each added an additional two rebounds.
The Lancers recorded a 56.8% field goal shooting percentage in the game, while also finishing the night with a 42.9% three-point percentage. The real deciding factor in this game though, was the fast break points, where the Lancers outscored Hunter 20-4.
The Lancers (1-1) are back in action tomorrow when they take on the hosts, Wheaton, in the Championship game of the Wheaton Tip-off Classic. Tip-off is scheduled for 5pm.