Thomson, Mency Guide Owls In Rick Martin-Hampton Inn Championship Victory

WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State sophomore forward Joe Thomson (Sunderland, Mass.) registered a double-double and Keith Mency (Edgewater, N.J.) generated a team-high 15 points to guide the Owls to a 70-59 victory over Albertus Magnus in the 2025 Rick Martin-Hampton Inn Tournament Championship game from the Woodward Center on Saturday afternoon.

The Owls pick up back-to-back wins to begin the season, taking down SUNY Old Westbury 97-65 on Friday night to advance into the title game.

Thomson was named the Rick Martin-Hampton Inn Tournament MVP for his performance, posting ten points while grabbing a game-high 16 rebounds with two blocks and two steals. Mency was efficient and joined Thomson as two lethal players coming off the bench for Westfield, providing instant scoring punch in an efficient 5-8 shooting from the floor.

Westfield led by six points heading into halftime before the Falcons went on a 9-2 scoring run to begin the second half with an offensive rebound and putback by Ray Ford giving Albertus a 36-35 lead.

Xavier Lewis (Long Island, N.Y.) knocked down a wing three to halt the run, then later in the half, the Owls coupled transition scoring with defensive stops. Trailing 39-38, Mency knocked down a jumper to pull ahead, then on the next possession, Thomson secured a defensive board, out letting ahead to Lewis who converted a layup at the other end.

Thomson continued to impose his will on the glass, pulling down another rebound before running the floor and laying home a bucket on a dime from A.Z. Allah (Springfield, Mass.) to open up a five point lead, forcing a Falcons timeout.

The timeout did not slow the scoring run, scoring five straight points out of the timeout to cap a 10-0 scoring burst with Mency draining a corner triple to extend the Owls lead to 49-39 with 10:37 left in the game. Westfield held Albertus Magnus scoreless for five minutes of game action and without a made field goal for nearly eight minutes.

The Falcons cut the Owls lead to seven with 3:30 to go after a three-pointer by Ford made it a 61-54 game. Allah made a layup with 2:40 remaining and with the Owls up nine with 1:36 left, Westfield forced a loose ball in the backcourt with Kenney Rogers (Springfield, Mass.) diving on the floor to corral the ball, then alertly called timeout to retain possession.

Mency sunk two free throws out of the timeout, increasing the lead to ten points and putting the championship bout out of reach.

Five Owls finished in double figures with the backcourt duo of Lewis and Allah each scoring 11 points. Rogers followed with ten points, adding five rebounds and four assists.

Jayquan Kirkland finished with a game-high 20 points and chipped in seven rebounds for Albertus Magnus (1-3). Isaiah Earl reached double figures, battling foul trouble while registering 12 points and three blocks.

Neither team shot particularly well from the floor but the Owls feasted off of 18 Falcons turnovers which resulted in 21 points off turnovers to the Falcons three off 13 Owls turnovers. Westfield also got out in transition to the tune of 14 fast break points to Albertus' zero points on the break. The Owls were plus-12 in bench points, displaying depth throughout the contest.

Westfield State will next take on Mitchell College in a road game on Friday, November 21 at 5:30 P.M. from Yarnall Athletic Complex in New London, Conn.

Rick Martin-Hampton Inn Consolation Game: Clark 85, SUNY Old Westbury 65

In the consolation game, Aliaun Iscandari led Clark with 20 points to power the Cougars past SUNY Old Westbury 85-65. Clark used an 18-0 run in the first half to open up a 19-point advantage where they would enter the break up by 20 points. The Panthers would not get within single digits for the entirety of the second half.

The Panthers were led by Joel Ofori who piled up 27 points and ten rebounds while playing in all 40 minutes of action.