BRIDGEWATER, Mass. - The Bridgewater State College men's basketball team erased a 19-point first half deficit as the Bears knocked off visiting Western New England College, 91-80, this evening from the Tinsley Center in Bridgewater.
Senior forward Roland Millien (Stoughton, MA) put together an impressive performance for the Bears as he posted a double-double with a career-high 33 points and 17 rebounds. Millien, who was 11-for-12 from the free throw line, also added five steals and a pair of blocked shots.
BSC (1-0) has now won their season-opening game for the fifth straight season. The last time the Bears lost a season-opener was an 80-70 loss to Keene State in 2003 at Keene's tip-off tournament.
Down 49-30 with 1:23 to go in the first half, BSC closed out the opening stanza with a 7-0 run highlighted by a three-point buzzer beating bank shot by junior guard Anthony Goss (Boston, MA). Trailing 55-46 with 15:16 remaining in the second half, the Bears used some pressure defense and the lights out shooting of sophomore guard Judah Jackson (Everett, MA) to go on a 13-0 run and take a 59-55 lead.
After WNEC tied the score at 59-59, the Bears responded with an 8-2 run to take the lead for good at 67-61. The Golden Bears would pull to within three points (69-66), but that would be as close as they would get the rest of the way.
After scoring just two points in the first half, Jackson would finish with 19 on 7-of-12 shooting. Sophomore forward Nicholas Motta (Fairhaven, MA) added 20 points to go along with five rebounds.
Bridgewater shot 51% (18-for-35) in the second half after shooting just 31% (12-for-39) in the opening stanza. It was just the opposite for Western New England as the Golden Bears were 17-for-34 (50%) from the floor in the first half, but just 12-for-39 (31%) in the final stanza.
BSC also finished 21-for-25 (84%) from the free throw line and 6-of-10 from three-point range. After hitting on 5 of 11 three-point attempts in the first half, WNEC was just 1-for-11 from behind the arc in the second half.
WNEC had five players finish in double figures led by senior guard Matt Maynard (Paterson, NJ). Maynard scored 16 points and added eight rebounds and four assists. Senior forward Kyle Fredette (Wallingford, VT) finished with 15 points with 12 of those coming in the first half. Junior guard Rick Johnson (Springfield, MA) also had 15 points, while sophomore guard Andre Duncan (Bronx, NY) and sophomore center Michael Kennedy (Newtown, CT) chipped in with 14 and 10 respectively.
Bridgewater State will host the BSC D'Angelo Tip-Off Classic on Saturday and Sunday. The Bears will take on Lesley University in their semifinal matchup at 1 PM on Saturday. Western New England (0-1) will compete in the Salem State College Tournament this weekend as the Golden Bears will battle Bowdoin College on Friday afternoon at 4.