Allah's Tip In Topples Anna Maria

WESTFIELD., Mass. –   Westfield State sophomore guard A.Z. Allah (Springfield, Mass./MacDuffie) scored 23 points, including a putback for the game-winning bucket in the closing seconds to lead Westfield State to a 67-65 win at Anna Maria College in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference men's basketball game in Paxton, Mass. on Wednesday night.

The Owls improve to 17-5 overall and 9-2 in the MASCAC, while Anna Maria dips to 2-9 in the league and 5-17 overall.

The game was tightly contested throughout. Tied at 32-all at the half, there was little to separate the two in the second half as the lead swun back and forth.   Anna Maria could never put more than two points' distance on the Owls, and Westfield's biggest lead was at five points at 60-55 on a Allah jumper with 4:35 left in the game.

Tied at 63 with a minute to play, Allah gave the Owls a 65-63 lead with a short jumper, then Anna Maria answered with a backdoor layup from Logan Talbot.

Kenny Rogers (Springfield, Mass./Springfield Int. Charter) drove the lane for the Owls, but his contested layup wouldn't go down, but Allah crashed the boards from the left side to tip in the miss with 14 seconds left in regulaton for the 67-65 lead.    Talbot's jumper at the buzzer bounced high off the rim and the Owls escaped with the win.

Allah finished 11-16 shooting from the floor and was 1-2 at the foul line.   Joe Thomson (Belchertown, Mass./Frontier) did the dirty work inside for the Owls, finishing with 19 points and 11 rebounds.  Jason James (Ansonia, Conn./ Westminster School) and Rogers each added 12 points with Rogers snaring 10 boards.

Both teams spent plenty of time at the foul line, with Westfield converting 19 of 28, while Anna Maria was just 10-21.

The AmCats were led by 21 points from Lucas Miglionico and 17 points and 12 rebounds from Nolan Serafin.   

Westfield State will be back at home on Saturday, hosting Bridgewater State at 2:00 p.m.