BRIDGEWATER, Mass. - Sophomore guard Corey Connor (Providence, RI) scored 23 points connecting on seven three-pointers to lead the Bridgewater State College Bears to an 87-56 victory over Westfield State College in a MASCAC Men's Basketball Tournament semifinal game this evening at the Tinsley Center in Bridgewater.
With the win, the second-seeded Bears (19-6) will advance to the conference championship game on Saturday afternoon at top-seeded Salem State. Tip-off is slated for 3 PM. The Vikings knocked off fourth-seeded Framingham State, 92-69, in the other semifinal contest.
This will be BSC's fifth appearance in the MASCAC title game and first since winning the tournament crown in 2005-2006. Bridgewater also won the tournament during the 1998-1999 season with a 68-62 victory over Salem in the championship game. The Bears' 19 wins this season are also the most since the '98-'99 campaign when the team posted a record of 19-9.
Connor knocked home 7 of 8 three-point attempts including a perfect 5-for-5 in the second half. Sophomore guard Judah Jackson (Everett, MA) added 19 points with 17 of those coming in the opening stanza.
Senior center Roland Millien (Stoughton, MA) posted his 12th double-double of the season as he finished with 11 points and ten rebounds while also dishing out three assists. Senior forward Stace Garrick (West Warwick, RI) chipped in with 17 points, five assists and four boards. Fourteen of his 17 points came in the second half.
Bridgewater State used two big runs in the opening period to put the game away early. The Bears went on a 21-5 run for a seven-minute period to take a 25-11 lead with 8:36 remaining. BSC ended the frame by scoring 17 of the final 22 points to take a 42-22 advantage into the intermission.
Bridgewater never led by less than 20 points the rest of the way and got up by as many as 35 points (87-52) before settling for the 87-56 win.
The Bears shot 60.8% from the floor including 10 of 12 from behind the arc. After shooting 25.8% in the first half, Westfield was able to rebound with a 53.8% clip in the final period. The Owls struggled mightily at the charity stripe and from three-point range. Westfield connected on just 11 of 23 free throw attempts and was 1-for-13 from downtown.
Senior guard Dave Jaehnig (Quincy, MA) paced the Owls with 15 points and six rebounds before fouling out midway through the second half. Westfield drops to 18-9 on the season and will await word on a possible ECAC Tournament bid.