BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- Junior guard Corey Connor (Providence, RI) poured in 25 points to lead the Bridgewater State College men's basketball team to a 71-67 victory over Eastern Connecticut State University this evening at the Tinsley Center in Bridgewater.
Bridgewater State improves to 4-5 with the victory, while Eastern Connecticut drops to 8-3.
Connor connected on 10 of 14 field goal attempts and was 3-for-5 from three-point range. He also added three rebounds and two assists.
Junior guard Judah Jackson (Everett, MA) was a rebound shy of a double-double as he finished with 19 points and nine boards. Junior forward Nicholas Motta (Fairhaven, MA) added seven points, five rebounds, six assists and four steals for the host Bears.
Junior guard Courtney Simmons (Middletown, CT) paced the visiting Warriors with 13 points, five assists and three boards. Sophomore guard Jamie Kohn (Columbia, CT) recorded a double-double as he finished with 11 points and 13 boards.
Bridgewater came away with the win despite being outrebounded 45-26, including a 13-3 disadvantage on the offensive glass. The Bears, however, shot 57% (16-for-28) from the field in the second half and 49% (29-for-59) for the game.
The game was all knotted at 29 apiece at the intermission as there were six ties and 11 lead changes in the opening stanza.
Bridgewater State used an 11-2 run to start the second half to take a nine point lead (40-31) with 15:40 remaining. After Eastern Connecticut cut the deficit to five (47-42), sophomore guard Nathan Miller (New Bedford, MA) gave the Bears a big boost off the bench. Miller scored BSC's next seven points in a span of two minutes as he connected on a three-pointer and pair of mid-range jumpers to give Bridgewater a ten-point cushion at 54-44.
Trailing 64-55 with just 1:48 left to play, Eastern Connecticut rallied with five straight points to pull to within four. After Jackson converted 1 of 2 free throws for the Bears, Motta came up with a huge steal with 34 seconds left to all but ice the game away. A three-pointer by senior guard Edwin Ortiz (Hartford, CT) with just three seconds remaining got the Warriors to within three (70-67). Jackson, however, was able to knock down the front end of a two-shot foul to put the finishing touches on the victory.