The road victory clinched a share of the Mass. State Conference championship for the Owls, who finished with a 10-2 record along with Salem State. It is Westfield’s second conference title and its first in 20 years.
Both Westfield and Salem competed the regular season with identical 18-7 records. But the Owls earned the all-important home court advantage for the conference’s postseason tournament based on tiebreaker criteria No. 2. Westfield swept the season series with third place Bridgewater State while Salem split with Bridgewater.
The conference tournament semifinals are scheduled for Friday, Feb. 24, at the Woodward Center. Westfield will play No. 4 seed Worcester State at 8:00 p.m., while Salem and Bridgewater square off in the first game at 6:00 p.m. The championship game is also scheduled for Westfield State, on Saturday, Feb. 25, at 2:00 p.m.
The Owls ran their winning streak to nine straight as they began pulling away from the Trailblazers late in the first half. The 18 victories are the second most in school history; Westfield’s 1993 NCAA Tournament team compiled a 22-6 record.
Leading outmanned MCLA 20-19 with 6:51 left in the first half, Westfield went on 19-4 run to take a 39-23 halftime advantage. Gadles keyed the run by making two 3-pointers in the final 45 seconds, including a 40-foot bank shot at the buzzer.
The Owls displayed their depth and talent at the outset of the second half, racing to a 49-28 lead in the first three minutes. Their biggest lead was 28 points, 66-38, with 8:16 remaining.
Westfield continued its balanced scoring. Junior point guard Gavin Illangakoon (Ellington, CT) and sophomore reserve guard Andy Deffer (Beverly) both scored 11 points. Sophomore guard Tony Collier tallied 10 points. Senior center James Ogbunize (Springfield) had eight points and game highs of 10 rebounds and four blocked shots.
Senior guard Thad Broughton (Peabody) led MCLA with 16 points.