BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- Junior forward Nicholas Motta's (Fairhaven, MA) game-winning jumper with 2.9 seconds left lifted the Bridgewater State College men's basketball team to a 72-70 come-from-behind victory over Trinity College this evening at the Tinsley Center in Bridgewater.
The host Bears, winners of six straight games, improve to 9-5 on the season. Trinity falls to 7-7.
Bridgewater State trailed by ten points (59-49) with 6:56 remaining in the second half. The Bears chipped away at the deficit and pulled to within three (68-65) on an Anthony Goss (Boston, MA) put-back of an offensive rebound at the 2:14 mark.
A jumper by Trinity sophomore guard Salah Abdo (Chelsea, MA) increased the Bantams' advantage to five at 70-65. Bridgewater State senior guard Matt McLaughlin (Rochester, MA) answered with a three-point play on a driving layup and the ensuing foul shot.
After a stop on the defensive end, junior forward Judah Jackson (Everett, MA) grabbed the long rebound and drove straight to the hoop for a tough layup to tie the game up at 70 with 48 seconds remaining.
Motta then forced a turnover with 17 seconds left and the Bears quickly called a timeout. With the clock winding down, McLaughlin dished to Motta who knocked down the game-winning left-elbow jumper from just inside the three-point line.
Motta finished with 20 points on 10 of 12 shooting. He also tallied three rebounds, three assists and four steals. Jackson led all players with 21 points to go along with eight boards and two assists. McLaughlin notched seven points as he was a perfect 3-for-3 from the floor and 1-for-1 at the free throw line. He also dished out a game-high seven assists and registered four steals.
As a team the Bears shot 58% from the field, including a 19-for-28 (68%) performance in the second half. Bridgewater also forced 18 Trinity turnovers while committing just nine.
The Bantams were led by junior forward Luke MacDougall (Baldwinsville, NY) who scored 17 points on 6 of 10 shooting. He also grabbed eight boards to go along with three assists and three steals. MacDougall connected on 3 of 5 three-point field goals.
Abdo finished with ten points, four assists and two steals, while sophomore forward Jon Pike (Exeter, NH) added 13 points, eight rebounds and two steals.
The Bantams shot 53% from the field and were 8-for-18 from three-point range. Trinity also outrebounded the Bears by a margin of 32-24 including a 10-4 advantage on the offensive glass. Turnovers and some costly missed free throws down the stretch would ultimately be the Bantams' Achilles heel in the contest. They missed four free throws in the last five minutes including the front end of a one-on-one twice.