Men's Basketball Defeats MASCAC Rival Bridgewater State, 98-92

Bridgewater, MA --- Senior Robert Hunter (St. Louis, MI) led all scorers with 25 points on 12-of-15 shooting as he paced Worcester State to a 98-92 triumph over Bridgewater State in MASCAC men's basketball action this evening at the Adrian Tinsley Center.

The Lancers improve to 9-7 on the season with the win and 3-2 in the MASCAC as the Blue and Gold snapped an 11-game losing streak versus the Bears dating back to 2008. The Bears fall to 6-9 overall and 1-3 in conference play.

Hunter also finished with a double-double as he grabbed ten rebounds to go along with three blocked shots and a pair of steals.  

Senior Monte Goodwin (Boston, MA) and junior Dane Jobst (Athol, Mass.) also posted double-doubles with 18 points and 12 boards and 11 points and 13 rebounds, respectively.  

Freshman Alex Lopez (Springfield, MA) added 18 points while fourth-year Kyle Ferreira (Westport, MA) chipped in with 15 points and a team-best six assists.

Sophomore Michael Lofton (Mansfield, MA) paced the Bears with double-double totals of 16 points and 15 rebounds to go along with four steals. 

Junior Brendan Monteiro (Brockton, MA) and second-year Barrett Murphy (Marshfield, MA) added 15 and 11 points off the bench, respectively, while senior Brendan McDonald (Dorchester, MA) scored 12 points and classmate Anthony Fortes (Providence, RI) notched ten points and six assists.

The visitors held a 50-35 advantage at the break and ballooned thier margin to 22 points (61-39) in the early stages of the second half.  

The Bears responded with a 10-0 run highlighted by four points each from Lofton and Fortes to pull to within 12 (61-49) with 15:34 remaining.  A quick 6-2 spurt pushed the Lancer lead up to 16 points, but back-to-back three-pointers from Murphy made it a ten-point game (81-71) at the 13:17 mark.

Worcester State then build their lead back up to 15 (72-67) on a layup by Hunter and a traditional three-point play by freshman Austin Keeler (Holyoke, MA).  

Bridgewater State answered with an 8-1 run capped off by a Monteiro driving layup to pull to within eight points at 73-65 with 10:45 left on the clock.  From that point, the Lancers' lead fluctuated between 11 and seven points until the final minute of play.

With the Bears trailing 95-86, Murphy drained this third trifecta of the evening to make it a six-point game. After Worcester missed two free throws, senior Shawn Yard (Brockton, MA) was fouled while hitting a layup and calmly sank the ensuing free throw to pull the Bears to within three at 95-92 with 32 seconds left to play.  

Bridgewater State, however, did not score again.  Lopez knocked down a pair of free throws on the Lancers' ensuing possession and Hunter capped off the scoring by converting 1 of 2 at the charity stripe with 12 seconds remaining.

Worcester State shot 52 percent (36-for-69) from the floor for the game including a sizzling 63 percent (17-for-27) in the second half.  The Lancers held a 54-36 rebounding advantage, while offensive rebounds were even at 19 apiece.

WSU also led in points in the paint (54-44) and second-chance points (27-12).

The Bears struggled with their shooting throughout the contest converting just 39 perent (33-for-85) of their field goal attempts.  Bridgewater State attempted 16 more shots thanks in part to forcing 23 turnovers with 14 swipes.

In addition, the hosts led in points off miscues (23-11) and the BSU bench outscore their counterparts, 37-11.

In upcoming action, the Bears travel to Salem State on Saturday for a MASCAC tilt with the Vikings at 1 PM. Worcester State entertains the Vikings next Tuesday night at 8.

Major Portions of Release Courtesy of Bridgewater State Sports Information