Worcester, MA- On Wednesday evening, the Worcester State Men's Basketball team was back in action to take on Westfield State, hoping to extend its winning streak to nine games. The Lancers defeated the Owls by a score of 80-58.

Heading into the game, Worcester State tried to jump off to a great start on the road.  Graduate Student Erik Bjorn (Holden, Mass.) was not only able to score the first points of the game but was also able to secure five offensive rebounds in the first Lancer offensive possession. On the other end of the court, Worcester State would hold Westfield State scoreless for the first four and a half minutes of the game. This helped the Lancers start the game on a 12-4 run seven minutes into the contest. For most of the half, both teams struggled to execute their offensive game plan. Sophomore Aaron Nkrumah (Worcester, Mass.) started to find his shooting stroke late in the first half as he helped push the Lancer's lead to eleven points. Thanks to Bjorn's play down low on both ends of the court, Worcester State could go into the halftime break with a 38-29 lead.

As the second half began, Worcester State was motivated to maintain its high level of play on defense. With 15:41 of regulation, the Lancers were in the shooting bonus with a double-digit lead. Just like the first half, offensive rebounds were a significant reason the Lancers could push their lead to sixteen points with fourteen offensive rebounds with a little under twelve minutes remaining. For the remainder of the game, the Lancers made sure the Owls's offense never heated up as Worcester State came away with an 80-58 victory to remain unbeaten in conference play.

Erik Bjorn was the player of the game with 20 points and 15 rebounds. For the game, Worcester State obtained 24 offensive rebounds.

What's next:

Worcester State (16-5, 9-0) will be on their home court on February 11 when they take on Fitchburg State in a home contest with tip-off at 12:00. Westfield State (7-15, 6-4) will be back on their home court February 11 when they compete against Bridgewater State with tip time at 12:00.