Westfield improved to 11-10 overall and 5-5 in the Mass. State Conference. Fitchburg dropped to 8-13 and 3-6.
Playing without three starters, the Owls relied on some big performances from their reserves to record the key conference victory. Illangakoon canned four free throws in the final 55 seconds to cap an 8-0 Westfield run in the last two minutes.
Fitchburg State had taken a 69-66 lead with 2:22 remaining after trailing by as many as seven points in the second half. Westfield then won the game at the foul line, as its final field goal came with 7:42 remaining. The Owls made 13 free throws in the final seven minutes. For the game they were 20-for-28 from the charity stripe.
The Falcons had an opportunity to tie the game the closing seconds, but Jim Priganano’s 3-point attempt was blocked by Westfield sophomore forward James Ogbunize (Springfield/Sci-Tech) with 4.5 seconds remaining. Ogbunize finished with eight points, 12 rebounds, four blocked shots and two steals.
Registering a double-double for the Owls was senior center Rich Pyle (Brookyn, N.Y.) with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Senior forward Vaso Jaukovic tallied 15 points, including aclutch 6-for-6 effort from the foul line in the game’s final three minutes.
Senior forward Rashad Cope (Dorchester) led the Falcons with 19 points and seven rebounds. Senior guard Ja’Quaine Coe had 10 steals, six assists and 11 points.