Men's Basketball Falls to Westfield State, 97-57

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Junior forward Brendon Hamilton (Worcester, Mass.) posted a double-double with game highs of 22 points and 19 rebounds to lead the Westfield State University men's basketball team to a convincing 97-57 victory over visiting Bridgewater State University in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) matchup on Wednesday night at the Woodward Center.

The Owls improve to 13-4 on the season and 3-2 in the MASCAC, while the Bears fall to 3-11 overall and 1-2 in conference play.

Hamilton connected on 9 of 16 field goal attempts and seven of his 19 boards came off the offensive glass. He also recorded three assists and three blocked shots.

Junior forward JT Thompson (Columbia, S.C.) added 16 points in 18 minutes off the bench for the Owls, while senior forward Kumar Brown (Enfield, Conn.) notched 12 points, five rebounds, two assists and three steals. Thompson went 6-for-8 from the floor including 4-for-5 from three-point range.

Junior forward Jabray Griffin (Orlando, Fla.) paced Bridgewater State with 11 points and six rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench. Griffin knocked down 5 of 7 field goal attempts. Senior guard Alan Pettway (Worcester, Mass.) and sophomore forward Keyth Key (Springfield, Mass.) checked in with ten points apiece for the Bears.

Westfield State used a 16-0 run in the first half to open up a 21-point lead (35-14). The Owls got up by as many as 36 points (57-21) in the stanza and took a 59-25 advantage into the break. Westfield was never threated in the second half as the Owls extended the lead to as many as 46 points (97-51) before settling for the 97-57 victory.

Westfield shot 51% (36-71) for the game including 7 of 14 from behind the arc. The Owls also went 18-for-27 (67%) from the free throws line.

The Bears struggled with their shooting throughout the evening as they connected on just 35% (24-68) of their field goal attempts and finished 3-for-23 (13%) from three-point range and 6-for-14 (43%) at the charity stripe.

Westfield held a 52-33 rebounding advantage with a 16-11 edge on the offensive glass. The two teams combined for 46 turnovers.

The Bears are back in action on Saturday afternoon when they host MASCAC foe Fitchburg State University at three o'clock. The Owls are off until next Wednesday night when they travel to Fitchburg State for a seven o'clock conference game with the Falcons.