Men's Basketball Tournament Bracket

WESTFIELD, Mass. – After finishing their season with an 11-1 record, the Westfield State Owls have claimed the top seed in next week’s Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament.

Joining Westfield State with a first round bye is Bridgewater State who will await the winners of the quarterfinals match-ups on Tuesday, February 24.

In the quarterfinals, third seed Fitchburg State will host sixth seed Worcester State on Tuesday at 7 pm while fourth seed Salem State State hosts MCLA also at 7. Westfield State will entertain the winner of Salem State/MCLA at 7:30 pm on Thursday and Bridgewater State hosts the victor of Fitchburg State/ Worcester State at 7:30.

The two victorious teams from Thursday’s semifinals will compete on Saturday for the MASCAC Men’s Basketball Championship at the highest remaining seed court.

Helping the Owls to their first regular season title since 2012-13 with 11 conference wins, Grant Cooper  at the end of the regular season is second in the MASCAC in points per game (16.6) and third in rebounds per game (8.7) Teammate Andre King is next with 15.6 points per game with 3.2 assists per contest.

Bridgewater State land the second seed after finishing the regular season with 10 wins in conference play. Senior Michael Lofton ended the season first in the conference in both points per game (18.9) and rebounds per game (10.5) and third in field goal percentage (55.1). Kyle Gibson finished the regular season fourth in the league in points per game (15.3) and eighth in total rebounds (144).

Fitchburg State is the third slot with six wins in league action.  Kwame Lee was the top point scorer for the Falcons, averaging 13.3 points per game while also collecting seven rebounds per game. Teammate Keyon Armstrong finished the season fourth in the conference in three point percentage at 40 percent while averaging 12 points per contest.

Earning the fourth seed is Salem State with five MASCAC wins. Bryan Ortiz closed out the year fifth in the conference with 13.7 points per game and the best free throw percentage at 90 percent.

Taking the fifth seed in the tournament is MCLA with five conference wins. Khalil Paul led the Trailblazers with 11.1 points per game with 3.7 rebounds and shot 78 percent from the charity stripe.

Closing out the tournament field is Worcester State with three conference victories.  Paul Brooks was a key player for the Lancers this season with the most league total rebounds (244) and second in field goal percentage (58) while averaging 12.2 points and 9.8 rebounds per game.

During the 2014 MASCAC Men’s Basketball Tournament, Bridgewater State upset number one seed Salem State in the title game, 83-73, to advance to the NCAA Tournament.