Worcester State Pulls Away from Men's Basketball

BOSTON, Mass. – Four Worcester State University student-athletes scored in double figures, led by junior Aaron Nkrumah (Oxford, Mass.), who came off the bench to score 20, as the Lancers (1-1) defeated Wentworth Institute of Technology (1-1), 85-74, in non-conference action Saturday night.

Junior Tyler Stewart (East Taunton, Mass.) led all scorers with 27 points (on 8-for-11 shooting) to go along with nine rebounds, five assists, three steals, and two blocks.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• A closely contested start to the game saw Wentworth take a series of three-point leads, including after a Stewart jumper made it 16-13 with 11:38 left. After Worcester State closed the gap to one, senior Sam Goy (Derry, N.H.) used a tree-point play to push the lead to four (19-15) at the midway point of the half. Just over a minute later, Goy drained a three, extending the lead to seven (22-15).
• The Lancers used a 16-6 run to take their first lead of the contest when Nkrumah hit a three, making it 31-28. After a Stewart layup, senior Sam Dion (Barre, Mass.) made a jumper to make it 33-30 with 3:39 to play.
• A layup by junior Nathaniel Smith (Beacon Falls, Conn.) and two Stewart free throws gave the Black & Gold a 34-33 lead, however, three pointers from graduate student Zion Hendrix (Charlotte, N.C.) and Nkrumah gave Worcester State a 39-34 lead. Connell cut the lead to three with a layup with 11 seconds left and Nkrumah hit one of two free throws with two seconds remaining, giving the Lancers a 40-36 edge at the break.
• Hendrix opened the second half with a three, extending the lead to seven (43-36) before Wentworth used a 14-4 run, taking a 50-47 lead on a graduate student Thomas Hacker (Averill Park, N.Y.) three with 15:44 left. Worcester State countered with a 9-2 run of its own, with a Davies Layup giving the Lancers a 56-52 lead with 13:04 remaining.
• The Black & Gold took a 61-60 lead with 10:00 left on a sophomore Russell Dolabany (Westwood, Mass.) jumper and upped their lead to 63-60 when Stewart hit two free throws. Dion followed with a layup to cut the lead to one, starting a 17-4 run, and taking a 77-67 lead on two Nkrumah free throws with 2:04 left.
• Dion and Hendrix had 18 and 17 points, respectively, while senior Ryan Rubenskas (Bridgewater, Mass.) added 16 points and 12 rebounds.
• In addition to Stewart's 27 points, Connell added 13 and Goy had nine, while Hacker and Smith each had eight.

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