Dion, Cardoso Lead Lancers Past Bridgewater State

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Junior guard Sam Dion (Barre, Mass.) scored a game-high 22 points and graduate guard Chris Cardoso (Jamaica Plain, Mass.) added 20 to lead the visiting Worcester State University men's basketball team to a 95-70 victory over Bridgewater State University in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) matchup on Monday night at the Tinsley Center. 

The Lancers improve to 12-11 on the season and 7-3 in the MASCAC while the Bears fall to 4-16 overall and 2-7 in conference play. Worcester swept the season series as the Lancers posted an 86-60 win over the Bears back on February 5^th. 

Dion connected on 5 of 9 three-point field goals and went 3-for-4 at the free throw line. He also dished out five assists. 

Cardoso finished 6-for-12 from the floor and 7-for-8 at the charity stripe. He also notched four rebounds, a game-high six assists to go along with a block and a steal. 

Senior guard Tyler Spencer (Pembroke, Mass.) added 11 points in 19 minutes off the bench for the Lancers, while senior forward Otis Wheeler (Worcester, Mass.) and junior guard Tayjuan McKenzie (Boston, Mass.) also came off the bench to tally ten points apiece. Senior center Erik Bjorn (Holden, Mass.) filled the stat sheet with nine points, a game-best ten rebounds (seven offensive), five assists, four blocks and a steal. 

Senior guard Alan Pettway (Worcester, Mass.) paced Bridgewater State with 18 points. Pettway knocked down 6 of 10 field goal attempts, including 2-for-3 from behind the arc, and went 4-for-6 at the free throw line. He also dished out a pair of assists. 

The Bears got off to a good start and used a 15-5 run over a five-minute stretch of the first half to open up a 12-point lead (29-17) with nine minutes remaining in the opening stanza. Pettway scored seven of his team-leading nine first-half points during the spurt. 

The Lancers chipped away at the deficit and knotted the score at 37-37 following a Dion trifecta with 34 seconds left to play in the period. Bridgewater had a chance to reclaim the lead, but couldn't convert in the closing seconds of the session as the two teams headed to the locker room deadlocked. 

Dion paced Worcester State with 12 first-half points while Spencer added 11. Dion and Spencer both went 3-for-5 from behind the arc over the first 20 minutes. 

The Lancers outscored the Bears 20-10 over the first 6 ½ minutes of the second half to open up a ten-point lead (57-47). Bridgewater State rallied as the Bears closed the gap to four, 63-59, following a Justin Parsons (Portsmouth, R.I.) three-pointer. Worcester, however, put the game out of reach over the next five minutes with a 15-2 run, highlighted by a pair of three-pointers by Dion and four points apiece from Cardoso and Wheeler. 

Worcester shot 48% (33-69) for the game, including 11-for-30 (37%) from behind the arc. The Lancers also went 18-for-22 (82%) from the free throw line, held a 44-31 rebounding advantage with a 15-9 edge on the offensive glass, and assisted on 26 of their 33 made field goals. 

The Bears shot 44% (28-64) from the floor and finished 5-for-14 (36%) from three-point range and just 9-for-17 (53%) at the charity stripe. 

The MASCAC schedule continues for both teams on Wednesday night. The Bears travel to Fitchburg State University for a seven o'clock game with the Falcons, while the Lancers head to MCLA to take on the Trailblazers at 7:30.