Owls Blitz Falcons, 105-86, for Eighth Consecutive Victory

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State first-year forward Kenneth Rogers, Jr. (Springfield, Mass.) and senior Lid Moreland (Bridgeport, Conn.) combined for 48 points as the Owls used a hot shooting start to down Fitchburg State 105-86 in a MASCAC game from Fitchburg, Mass. on Saturday afternoon.

The Owls continue to roll through middle of the season as Westfield has now won eight straight games and 11 of their last 12, improving to 14-3 overall and 4-0 in the MASCAC. The Falcons drop to 4-12 on the season and 1-2 in conference play.

Rogers, Jr. logged his tenth double-double of the season, producing 25 points, 13 rebounds, and six assists. Moreland reached the twenty-point scoring mark for the fourth time this season, recording 23 points and a game-high four steals. Senior Timmy Jacobus (Willemstad, Curacao) remained red hot from beyond the arc, burying six three-pointers for 18 points after knocking down seven triples on Wednesday in the Owls win over Worcester State. Xavier Lewis (Long Island, N.Y.) and Kobe Parker (Chicopee, Mass.) also reached double figure scoring as five Owls reached that mark this afternoon.

Jacobus started the contest in rhythm for a second straight game, drilling two threes with Moreland converting a layup in between, then an Eric Johnson (Houston, Texas) putback after an Owls miss gave Westfield a 10-0 lead 3:29 into the game.

After a timeout, the Owls would convert six of their next seven shots to stretch the lead out to 17 points, fueled by an aggressive Owls defense that forced four turnovers in that span, leading to two transition makes from Moreland to cap a 12-0 scoring run.

The Westfield lead reached 20 points with 10:46 left in the half on a layup from Parker as the Owls would wind up holding a 20-point advantage heading into the break as Westfield shot 52.5% from the field including eight threes, four of which coming from Jacobus.

In the second half, back-to-back threes from Moreland and Jacobus pushed the Owls to their largest lead of the contest at 23 points with 16:43 remaining in the game.

Fitchburg attempted a late run, breaking off a 14-6 run after trailing by 21 points to eventually cut the deficit to 13 points on a basket from Jalen Jackson (San Antonio, Texas) with 4:43 left in the game. Rogers, Jr. made a free throw and then on the next possession, grabbed an offensive rebound and scored at the rim to drive the lead back up to 16 points with 3:20 left, ultimately putting the game out of reach.

Two made free throws from A.Z. Allah (Springfield, Mass.) put the Owls at the 100-point plateau, the third time the Owls have scored over 100 points in a game this season.

Jackson led all scorers in the game with 27 points and pulled down 12 rebounds for the Falcons. Matthew Drayton (Boston, Mass.) added 21 points, hitting three triples as well. Duvall Price (Lanham, Md.) was the final Falcons player in double figures, contributing 18 points and eight rebounds.

Westfield shot 48.2 percent from the floor in the game and totaled 12 made triples in 29 attempts (41.4%) as the Owls have been in a groove from beyond the arc in their last two games, making 25 three-pointers over both conference wins this week.

Westfield State will be back in action next Saturday as the Owls host Bridgewater State at noon from the Woodward Center in Westfield, Mass.