The Lancers improved to 11-8 overall and 4-4 in the conference. Westfield is 9-9 and 5-3.
Worcester led 33-28 at halftime and held single-digit leads for the entire second half. The closest the Owls drew was within a point, 60-59, when senior forward Vaso Jaukovic nailed a 3-point basket from the top of the key with 2:54 remaining.
But the Owls were unable to come up with the big stop and make their shots as they were outscored 10-2 in the final two and a half minutes.
Worcester State quickly regained its four-point edge, 63-59, when senior forward Jermaine Cannon (Dorchester) converted an old fashioned 3-point play with 2:28 remaining.
Junior forward Ralph Frazier (Carver) was Worcester’s only other player in twin digits with 13 points. Senior forward Tom Sullivan scored eight point and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.
Freshman guard Tony Collier (Colchester, VT) led Westfield with 18 points. Junior forward Mike Jurkowski (Belchertown) posted a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds, but he struggled around the key against the tall Worcester frontcourt, canning only 4 of 16 field goal attempts. Junior reserve forward James Ogbunize tallied 10 points.
Both teams shot 36 percent from the field. Worcester held a slight edge in 3-point shooting (4 of 8) and free throw shooting (20 of 24) over Westfield, which made 3 of 14 treys and 14 of 20 free throws.
Newspaper Box Score Westfield State vs Worcester State 2/5/05 4:00 pm at Worcester, MA At Worcester, MA WORCESTER STATE 70, WESTFIELD STATE 61 WESTFIELD STATE (9-9, 5-3) Tony Collier 8-13 1-2 18; Mike Jurkowski 4-16 4-4 12; James Ogbunize 5-7 0-0 10; Ricky Ogboin 3-12 3-3 9; Vaso Jaukovic 1-8 5-8 8; Steve Martins 1-4 1-2 4; Chad Misiuk 0-1 0-1 0; Andy Deffer 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-61 14-20 61. WORCESTER STATE (11-8, 4-4) Tyson Drayton 6-14 4-5 18; Ralph Frazier 4-10 4-5 13; Ryan Connor 4-7 0-0 9; Tom Sullivan 2-8 4-4 8; Teddy Brown 2-7 4-4 8; Jermaine Cannon 3-10 1-1 7; Ryan Hopkins 1-4 2-2 4; Will Spont 1-1 0-0 2; Jason Garrett 0-2 1-3 1. Totals 23-63 20-24 70. Westfield State............... 28 33 - 61 Worcester State............... 33 37 - 70 3-point goals-Westfield State 3-14 (Steve Martins 1-3; Vaso Jaukovic 1-5; Tony Collier 1-4; Ricky Ogboin 0-2), Worcester State 4-8 (Tyson Drayton 2-4; Ryan Connor 1-1; Ralph Frazier 1-2; Ryan Hopkins 0-1). Fouled out--Westfield State-Ricky Ogboin, Worcester State-None. Rebounds-Westfield State 35 (Mike Jurkowski 11), Worcester State 49 (Tom Sullivan 9). Assists-Westfield State 11 (Vaso Jaukovic 4), Worcester State 11 (Jason Garrett 4). Total fouls-Westfield State 21, Worcester State 20.