Owls Roll Past UMass Boston, 78-58

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State senior Jerome Stephens (Dorchester, Mass.) scored a team-high 15 points as the Owls soared past UMass Boston 78-58 in a non-conference game on Saturday afternoon from the Woodward Center in Westfield, Mass.

The Owls improve to 7-4 on the season while the Beacons fall to 2-10 overall.

Westfield opened up an early double-digit lead in the first half, ripping off a 15-1 scoring run with Juju Omot (Springfield, Mass.) scoring bookend baskets on the run, beginning the burst with a three-pointer then punctuating the run with a dunk off a transition feed from Xavier Lewis (Wheatley Heights, N.Y.).

The Beacons would cut the deficit to three points with 8:51 in the half off a triple from Emanuel Zayas (Hollywood, Fla.), but the Owls responded on the next possession with a three pointer from Lewis. Then, after a pair of free throws from Lid Moreland (Bridgeport, Conn.), the Owls turned defense into offense, forcing a Beacons turnover which led to a layup by Andre Hairston (Long Island, N.Y.) to drive the Owls lead back up to ten points with 6:50 to play in the half.

The Owls led 37-27 entering the second half, and held a 12 to 14-point lead for the better portion of the half until Brendan Keaveny (Quincy, Mass.) and Kuany Teng (Manchester, N.H.) connected for back-to-back threes to push the lead to 18 points (70-52) with 4:16 left in the game, ultimately securing the victory.

Stephens' game-high 15 points came on an efficient 6-10 shooting from the field as he led the Owls with three triples on the afternoon as well. Omot logged his second consecutive double-double, posting 14 points and ten rebounds. Hairston and Keaveny each chipped in ten points off the bench with Brendon Hamilton (Worcester, Mass.) leading Westfield with 14 rebounds and six blocks.

Zayas led all scorers with 22 points and dished out seven assists. Dominic Shaw (Hollywood, Fla.) and Carson Meczywor (Adams, Mass.) each scored eight points for the Beacons.

Westfield shot the ball well from the perimeter in the contest, converting 11 of 26 three pointers attempted (42.3%). The Owls also had a balanced scoring attack throughout the game, scoring 33 bench points.

UMass Boston shot just 28.1% from the floor (25-89) including 6-29 (20.7%) on threes.

Westfield State will next play as part of the Springfield College Holiday Tournament against Bowdoin College on Saturday, December 30 at 3:00 P.M. UMass Boston will host Southern Maine in an LEC contest on Wednesday, January 3.