Junior Matt Albon and sophomore Kris Johnson scored baskets following Worcester State College turnovers in the final minutes of play as the Eastern Connecticut State University men’s basketball team posted a 48-45 victory Thursday night at Francis E. Geissler Gymnasium.
The win gives Eastern (7-12) two straight wins for the first time this year while Worcester (9-10) has lost four straight following a five-game winning streak.
The Warriors led by 13 points seven minutes into the game, by seven at halftime and by nine early in the second half before the Lancers used a 12-2 run over four minutes to take a one-point lead seven minutes into the second half, 33-32. Trailing by two, Eastern capitalized on three straight unforced Worcester turnovers, however, scoring baskets off each to move out to a 48-43 lead with 68 seconds left.
Following a Worcester turnover, junior forward Leon Martin put back a missed three-pointer by Johnson to tie the game at 43 with three minutes left. Albon then sank a reverse layup on a pass from sophomore guard Greg Lasota with two minutes left to give the Warriors a two-point lead, and Johnson sank his only three-point field goal in seven tries with 1:08 left to make it 48-43. A Worcester basket and Albon’s missed three-point field goal in the closing seconds set up the Lancers for a potential game-tying three-pointer, but senior guard Ryan Hopkins’ bid from the top of the key with 1.2 seconds left bounced off the rim and was grabbed by Eastern sophomore guard Shiwon Davis.
Albon led all players in the game with 18 points, sinking four three-point field goals in eight attempts. Martin added 12 points, six coming on six free throws. Davis came off the bench to score eight points, hitting both of his three-point attempts in the second half.
Hopkins scored all 12 of his team-high points in the second half. He was 3-for-5 from the floor and 5-for-6 from the stripe.
The game was the lowest-scoring one of the season for Eastern, which both scored and allowed its fewest number of points this year. Both teams shot under 40 per cent from the floor, with Worcester missing nine of 21 free throws.
Eastern hosts Rhode Island College Saturday at 3 p.m. in a Little East Conference game.