SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- Junior forward
Nicholas Motta (Fairhaven, MA) led five players in
double figures with 20 points as the Bridgewater State men's
basketball team rallied for an 86-83 victory over Western New
England College in the season opener for both teams Tuesday (Nov.
17) in the Alumni Healthful Living Center.
The Bears, ranked 11th nationally in the pre-season d3hoops.com
poll, outscored the Golden Bears 57-35 in the second half after
trailing by 19 at halftime.
Junior guard Corey Connor (Providence, RI) added 15 points while junior guard Judah Jackson (Everett, MA) had 11 points. Senior guard Matt McLaughlin (Rochester, MA) contributed 10 points as did freshman forward Andrew Kelley (Mansfield, MA) who made all five baskets coming off the bench.
Western New England College made 21-of-32 field goal attempts for a blistering 65.6% in taking a 48-29 advantage at halftime.
The Bears quickly erased the lead to go ahead 57-56 on a free throw by senior center Chris Dijak (Lunenburg, MA) at the 10:41 mark.
WNEC came back and took a five-point lead at 74-69 following a three-pointer by senior guard Mike Booker (Springfield, MA) with 5:21 left.
Bridgewater State tied the contest at 80 when Motta made a basket with 1:40 remaining.
Senior guard Rick Johnson (Springfield, MA) scored to give the Golden Bears at 82-80 with 1:26 left.
Dijak then canned a pair of free throws to tie the game for the final time and Motta scored with 32 seconds remaining for an 84-82 edge.
Johnson made a free throw to cut the deficit to one with 16.7 seconds left before Dijak again came to the rescue by making two charity shots for the final points. He scored eight points and was 6-for-6 from the foul line.
Johnson had a game-high 26 points and pulled down six rebounds for Western New England College.
Sophomore guard Andre Shaw (Jamaica, NY) netted 16 points and had four assists in his Golden Bears' debut while junior forward Brad Thomka (Springfield, MA) had 13 points and a game high seven boards.
Jackson dished out five assists and had five rebounds for the visiting Bears in a fine all-around performance.