WORCESTER, Mass. -- Bridgewater State College senior forward Roland Millien (Stoughton, MA) notched a team-best 25 points while sophomore Nicholas Motta (Fairhaven, MA) tallied 15 points with seven rebounds as the Bears defeated Worcester State this evening 90-82 in overtime at Lancer Gymnasium.
BSC, winners of a school record-tying 11 straight games, improve their record to 17-5 and 9-1 in the MASCAC. WSC falls to 12-12 and 5-6 in conference play.
With BSC leading 69-61 with 8:39 left in the contest, the Lancers went on a 10-2 spurt over the next six minutes to knot the score up at 71-71 on a pair of free throws by junior Elijah Sims (Worcester, MA).Within the span of the next minute, Millien and Motta gave Bridgewater State a four point cushion with 2:11 remaining.
At 1:42, the Lancers got within two on a Maurice Horton (Detroit, MI) layup and then the Lancers scored the equalizer on a steal by senior Jamaal Ford (Worcester, MA) and field goal by Sims. After both teams traded possessions, the Bears had a good chance with 15 seconds left to score the go-ahead basket, but a Judah Jackson (Everett, MA) jumper and Motta tip-in failed to go through the net as the horn sounded the end of regulation.
Both traded baskets to start the overtime period before Bridgewater State went on a 13-4 run to close out the contest. Trailing 79-78 with 2:02 to play, the Lancers turned the ball over on a five-second inbounds violation and failed to take the lead as the Bears made it a four point game on a traditional three-point play by Millien to help secure the hard-fought victory.
Horton paced Worcester State with 25 points, 11 rebounds and five assists. Sims recorded 19 points with three steals while Ford chipped in with 11 points and three made treys.
Millien scored his 26 points as he connected for 8-for-9 from the field and 9-for-10 from the charity stripe. He moved past Devere Morris (1980-84) and Terry Riley (1976-80) into 21st place on BSC's all-time scoring list with 1,051 points. Senior Stace Garrick (West Warwick, RI) also finished the evening with 12 points off the bench while sophomore Corey Connor (Providence, RI) scored 17 points as he connected on five shots from downtown in the first stanza.
In the opening period there were 10 lead changes and six ties as only the Bears widened their advantage to six points in the half and led 44-43 heading into the locker room. Bridgewater State outscored the Lancers 9-5 over the first four minutes of the second stanza and maintained a five point lead until Worcester State went on their run to tie the contest.
Both teams shot 52% from the floor in the contest while the Bears held the Lancers to make just five of 14 three point attempts. BSC also finished 19-for-21 from the free throw line. The game was even in rebounds (31-31) and second chance points (17-17), but Worcester held a commanding edge in points off of turnovers as they converted 26 points off of 16 Bridgewater State miscues.
Both teams will play Salem State in the upcoming week. The first-place Bears host the Vikings on Tuesday night (7:30) while the Lancers will end the regular season visiting Salem on Saturday. A Bridgewater victory over Salem would clinch the MASCAC regular season title for the Bears.