BRIDGEWATER, Mass. - The Bridgewater State College men's basketball team held off a second half comeback attempt as the Bears defeated Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference (MASCAC) rival Worcester State College, 71-60, this evening at the Tinsley Center in Bridgewater.
The Bears have now won four straight games as they improve to 10-5 on the season and 3-1 in the MASCAC. Worcester falls to 9-8 overall and 3-2 in conference play.
Sophomore guard Corer Connor (Providence, RI) poured in a career-high 22 points as he connected on 6 of 9 three-point field goal attempts. Senior center Roland Millien (Stoughton, MA) posted his ninth double-double of the season scoring 13 points and pulling down a career-high 20 rebounds.
In the first half, BSC used a 15-2 run to turn a one-point game into a 14-point lead (28-14) during a seven-minute stretch. The Bears would eventually take a 36-21 advantage into the intermission.
Bridgewater opened up a 25-point lead with 14:42 left in the second half thanks to three consecutive three-point field goals by Connor. Over the next seven minutes, however, Worcester outscored the Bears 17-2 to cut the deficit to ten points (57-47) with 7:32 left on the clock.
Sophomore guard Judah Jackson (Everett, MA) responded out of a timeout for BSC as he knocked home a jumper off an assist from junior guard Matt McLaughlin (Rochester, MA) to put a halt to the run. Worcester would cut the deficit to seven (65-58) with under two minutes to play, but BSC scored six straight points to put the game out of reach.
McLaughlin matched his season-high with ten assists while also recording four steals. Senior forward Stace Garrick (West Warwick, RI) came off the bench to score ten points as he connected on 6 of 6 free throw attempts.
Junior forward Maurice Horton (Detroit, MI) paced the Lancers with 16 points, nine rebounds, five assists and three steals. Junior guard Brandon Fortes (Pawtucket, RI) added 14 points and five boards with all 14 of his points coming in the second half.
BSC shot 42% (22-for-53) from the floor and finished 7 for 14 from behind the arc thanks in large part to the hot hand of Connor. Worcester shot just 36% and 6-for-22 from three-point range. Although turnovers and rebounds were fairly even for the game, the Bears did however have an edge at the free throw line. BSC connected on 20 of 26 free throw attempts while Worcester finished 10-for-14.
Millien's 20 rebounds were the most in a game for a BSC player since Tyler Lang grabbed 20 boards in an 83-57 win over Keene State College on December 30, 2005. Millien also increased his career scoring total to 946 points as he is closing in on the 1,000-point milestone.
The MASCAC schedule resumes for Bridgewater on Saturday as the Bears travel to Salem State College to take on the Vikings at 3 PM. Worcester is off until next Tuesday as they play host to those same Vikings at 8 PM.