Jacobus Pours in Seven Threes, Owls Soar Past Worcester for Seventh Straight Win

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State senior Timmy Jacobus (Willemstad, Curacao) buried seven triples and posted a career-high 21 points to lead the Owls to their seventh straight victory, defeating Worcester State 85-76 in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference game from the Woodward Center on Wednesday night.

The Owls open the conference slate with three consecutive wins, advancing to 13-3 overall and 3-0 in the league. The Lancers drop to 4-11 on the season and 1-1 in the MASCAC.

Jacobus was on target for Westfield right out of the gate, connecting for a three on the Owls first possession of the game, then minutes later, nailed a second triple to push Westfield to a 10-0 lead to begin the contest. Sam Davies (Worcester, Mass.) split a pair of free throws to put Worcester on the board, then Jacobus answered with a third triple in just five attempts. Jacobus notched a career-high in scoring after the first half, ending the opening 20 minutes with 15 points while burying five of nine threes in the frame to stake the Owls to a 17-point halftime advantage at 41-24.

Jacobus started the second half the same way he opened the game, converting a three-pointer for Westfield's first points of the period to extend the lead to 44-24. At the 15:31 mark of the second half, the Owls increased the lead to 23 points after a layup from Angel Price-Espada (Cambridge, Mass.) serving as the largest lead of the night for Westfield.

Worcester cut the deficit to 16 points with 14:34 left after seven straight points from Brandon Goris (Bronx, N.Y.) made it a 52-36 contest. The Owls lead remained around 16 until the Lancers managed to trim the deficit to ten points with just under nine minutes to go after two triples from Jaylen Kirkland (Gardner, Mass.) and a layup from Shawn Hebert (Ayer, Mass.) put the Lancers down 65-55.

Kobe Parker (Chicopee, Mass.) halted the run with two free throws, then Lid Moreland (Bridgeport, Conn.) stuck a triple on the ensuing Westfield possession to bring the lead back up to 15 points with 7:25 left to play in regulation.

An Owls scoring drought allowed the Lancers to pull back within single digits after a three-point conversion from Goris with 2:40 remaining cut the lead to 73-65. Four free throws from Kenneth Rogers, Jr. (Springfield, Mass.) managed to drive the lead back into double figures as Westfield as a team made eight free throws over the final 2:34 of the game.

Four Owls reached the double-digit scoring mark led by Jacobus' 21 points. Moreland finished with 16 points and five rebounds with Rogers, Jr. posting his ninth double-double of the season after collecting 14 points and ten rebounds. Price-Espada gathered ten second half points, finishing with 13 for the night.

Goris led all scorers with 25 points, 19 of which came in the second half. He missed only two shots from the field, shooting 10-12 from the field and 2-4 from three-point land. Ayme Daguilh (West Boylston, Mass.) chipped in 15 points off the bench, knocking down three triples. Davies added 11 points while Camdyn Shoesmith notched a ten-point, 12-rebound double-double.

Westfield State will be back in action on Saturday as the Owls travel to Fitchburg State for a noon tip-off. Worcester State will visit Bridgewater State for their next game on Saturday at noon.