NEW PALTZ, N.Y. -- The Bridgewater State College men's basketball team advanced to the championship game of the SUNY-New Paltz/Rino's Pizza Tip-Off Tournament as the Bears downed Lehman College, 68-56, this afternoon in New Paltz, NY.
Bridgewater State will take on St. Joseph's College of Long Island in the tournament championship game on Saturday night at 8 PM. St. Joseph's knocked off host SUNY-New Paltz, 84-80, in the other semifinal matchup.
Junior forward Judah Jackson (Everett, MA) paced the Bears (2-0) with 15 points, four rebounds and three steals.
Senior point guard Matt McLaughlin (Rochester, MA) added 12 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals, while junior forward Nick Motta (Fairhaven, MA) chipped in with 12 points, eight rebounds and four steals. Sophomore forward Andrew Groth (Uxbridge, MA) came off the bench to score ten points to go along with three assists.
Jonathan DeJesus led the way for Lehman with 16 points, 13 rebounds and four steals. Xavier Garvin added 12 points and five steals.
Bridgewater State shot 47% (24-for-51) from the floor while holding Lehman to just 38% (24-for-63) shooting. The Bears also connected on 15 of 19 free throw attempts.