ONEONTA, N.Y. -  There were Owls-a-plenty in the opening game of the Michael Freilich Memorial Tournament (hosted by SUNY-Oneonta), as The W men's basketball lost to Westfield State, 83-70, in the battle of the Owls. The MUW Owls fell to 0-2 on the season, while the Westfield Owls improved to 3-1.
 
MUW will play Elmira College  in the consolation game of the tourney on Sunday (Nov. 17) at 12 p.m. Central Time. Elmira lost to host SUNY-Oneonta, 80-51 in its first round game.
 
In a game that stayed tight early, The W jumped out to a 10-6 lead and trailed at the half, 38-37. MUW would lead for the last time in the game at the 19:31 mark of the second stanza, when a Dariun Doss (5 points) layup gave his team a 39-38 advantage.
 
A 12-2 run over the next three minutes helped Westfield to create some separation. WC's largest lead was 17 points (83-66) in the waning minutes.
 
MUW had a great night shooting from the field, hitting 47 percent (31-66) of its attempts.  The problem was that Westfield virtually matched that effort, going 46.8 percent (29-62). The big difference came from where those shots originated, as Westfield canned 14-of-28 from beyond the arc, while The W made 3-of-12 from long range.
 
Both teams did a good job of taking care of the ball, with MUW making just 13 turnovers. But WC was even more stingy with just six miscues.
 
Sophomore transfer James Dukes led MUW with 14 points. Dukes was also efficient in his shot selection, converting 6-of-7 field goal tries and 2-for-2 from the free throw stripe.
 
Cam Smith was the only other player from The W in double-figure scoring with 11 points. Smith hit 5-of-10 from the field, but had a nice all-around effort with five rebounds, three assists, and three blocks.
 
Junior transfer Trent Walker added nine points and shared high rebound marks with teammate Tyson Smithey, as each grabbed six caroms. Eric Bass Jr. chipped in seven points and a team-leading five assists.
 
Smithey, Pacey Mathews, and Chris Evans all tallied six points in the loss.