BRIDGEWATER, Mass. - Sophomore Nicholas Motta (Fairhaven, MA) notched 22 points and 10 rebounds, and classmate Judah Jackson (Everett, MA) finished with 20 points, five rebounds and five assists, to lead the Bridgewater State College men's basketball team to an 88-76 win over Framingham State College in a Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference (MASCAC) contest this evening at the Tinsley Center in Bridgewater.
The Bears have now won eight straight games as they improve to 14-5 on the season and 7-1 in the MASCAC. The eight-game winning streak is the longest since the 1996-97 season. Framingham falls to 11-10 overall and 3-5 in conference play.
Junior guard Matt McLaughlin (Rochester, M A) dished out a career-high 13 assists in the win while also scoring six points and grabbing six rebounds. As a team, the Bears amassed 27 assists on 32 made field goals.
Senior center Roland Millien (Stoughton, MA) posted his tenth double-double of the season as he finished with 13 points and 11 boards. Ten of Millien's 13 points came in the second half as well as all 11 of his rebounds. Millien, who played just six minutes in the first half due to early foul trouble, needs just nine points for one thousand in his career.
Down 17-14 at the 14:27 mark of the first half, BSC went on a 9-0 run over a three minute span to take a 23-17 lead. Bridgewater then closed out the half with an 8-3 run to head into halftime with a 40-28 advantage.
The Bears held their largest lead of the game at 46-31 just two minutes into the second half. Trailing 57-48, Framingham outscored the Bears 15-7 over a period of 4 ½ minutes to cut the deficit to 64-63 with 8:41 remaining. Bridgewater then responded with a 12-2 run to retake control of the game.
Junior guard Chad Dixon (Brockton, MA) and third-year forward Josue Almodovar (Holyoke, MA) paced the Rams with 23 and 20 points respectively. Dixon tallied 17 of his game-high 23 points in the second half alone, while Almodovar notched 18 of his 20 points in the final stanza as well.
Junior forward Roderick Jackson (Cambridge, MA) recorded 13 points and eight rebounds, while classmate Bill Carey (Abington, MA) scored 15 points on 5 of 13 shooting from three-point land. Junior guard Darius Yarrell (Brockton, MA) chipped in with a team-high 10 assists to go along with three steals.
Bridgewater shot 55% (32-for-58) from the field and connected on 20 of 28 free throw attempts. BSC also held a 44-33 rebounding advantage. After connecting on just 9 of 27 (33%) field goal attempts in the opening period, Framingham responded with a 46% (19-for-41) shooting effort in the second half.
The MASCAC schedule resumes for first-place Bridgewater State on Saturday as the Bears travel to Fitchburg State College to take on the Falcons at 3 PM. Framingham hosts Worcester State College on Saturday at 5:30.