Worcester, MA- Coming off of Thanksgiving break, the Lancers Men's Basketball team hosted the Wesleyan University Cardinals earlier this evening. Worcester State started the season hot, going 5-2 and only falling to a pair of nationally-ranked opponents. The Cardinals came into tonight's battle desperate for a win, having lost their previous four competitions. 

The game began with a lack of significant scoring from either squad as the score was a mere 6-4 after the first five minutes, and had only increased to 11-6 as the halfway point of the first half passed. Wesleyan got on a bit of a run in the next few minutes, extending their lead to 20-8 with about six minutes left and leaving the Lancers looking for a momentum shift. Enter sophomore Daniel Liberatore (Hopedale, Mass.). Coming off the bench, Liberatore nailed a shot from beyond the arc to get Worcester State to double-digits. He would again come in clutch from three-point land when he pulled the Lancers within three points 27-24 with just over two minutes remaining in the first half. A late run for the Cardinals would quell the Lancer resurgence, as the teams headed into the half with Wesleyan up 34-26. 

Wesleyan would continue their control over the game in the second half, leading Worcester State by double digits throughout the vast majority of the final 20 minutes. The Lancers showed glimpses of hope with two more Liberatore three-pointers coupled with a trio of threes from senior captain Zion Hendrix (Charlotte, N.C.). But their sharp shooting from beyond the arc was not enough to compensate for the cumulative shooting woes of Worcester State. Shooting just less than 29% from the field, the Lancers fell to the Cardinals by a final score of 73-60. 

Worcester State, now 5-3, will be right back at it Thursday night when they travel to Lasell University for a 7 p.m. battle. The Cardinals headed back to Connecticut with a record of 2-4.