BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – The Bridgewater State University men's basketball team secured a first round bye and the number two seed in next week's MASCAC Tournament as the host Bears downed MCLA, 63-61, in the regular season finale for both teams on Saturday afternoon at the Tinsley Center.
With the win, Bridgewater improves to 14-10 on the season and 9-3 in the MASCAC. The Bears will host a semifinal round game next Thursday night versus either third-seeded Westfield State or number six seed Fitchburg State. MCLA slips to 7-18 overall and 4-8 in conference play. The Trailblazers are seeded fifth in the tournament and will travel to fourth-seeded Worcester State on Tuesday night.
Bridgewater did not lead in the game until midway through the second half and got down by as many as 11 points over thr first 20 minutes. Trailing 31-21 with 2:25 remaining in the opening stanza, the Bears closed out the half with a 10-2 run highlighted by three-pointers from junior guard Shawn Yard (Brockton, Mass.) and senior guard Ceasar Veal (Boston, Mass.) to cut the deficit to two points (33-31) as the teams headed to the locker room.
The second half was close throughout with neither team leading by more than six points. The Bears would take their first lead on a Michael Lofton (Mansfield, Mass.) layup at the 12:54 mark. Another Lofton layup with 7:34 remaining gave BSU their biggest lead of the game at 48-42.
Trailing 54-50 with under five minutes left to play, MCLA went on a quick 5-0 spurt with senior forward Chris Harris (Boston, Mass.) burying a jumper followed by a three-pointer to give the visitors a one-point cushion. Veal answered with a trifecta to reclaim the lead for the Bears, but Harris quickly tied the score at 57-57 as he knocked down a pair of free throws on the Trailblazers' ensuing possession.
The two teams would exchange baskets to keep the score deadlocked. First, BSU senior center Samuel Johnson (North Chelmsford, Mass.) converted a layup. MCLA senior forward Jamal Brown (Springfield, Mass.) then provided the fifth and final tie of the second half with a layup as the clock ticked down to under two minutes.
The next minute and 35 seconds would see three missed shots by Bridgewater as well as a missed jumper and a turnover by MCLA. The third BSU miss however would result in an offensive rebound by Johnson who was fouled with 23 seconds left. Johnson calmly sank both free throws to give the Bears a 61-59 lead. After a MCLA missed running layup, senior forward Anthony Fortes (Providence, R.I.) connected on two more free throw attempts to secure the win. A layup at the buzzer by Trailblazer junior guard Bilal Shabazz (Schenectady, N.Y.) accounted for the final score of 63-61.
Johnson paced Bridgewater with a double-double effort of 11 points and 12 rebounds. Lofton came off the bench to notch 10 points, seven boards, three blocks and three steals, while Fortes finished with ten points. Senior guard Nathan Miller (New Bedford, Mass.) also provided the Bears with some much needed energy off the bench as he scored nine points in just 14 minutes.
MCLA was led by Brown who also recorded a double-double with 11 points and ten caroms to go along with three assists and a pair of steals. Harris finished with ten points and six rebounds, while senior guard Tyrell Mosley (Boston, Mass.) led all scorers with 12 points.
Bridgewater shot just 36% (21-58) from the floor, including 4 of 16 from three-point range, but attempted 15 more free throws than MCLA. The Bears connected on 17 of 25 (68%) shots from the charity stripe. The Trailblazers converted 43% (25-58) of their field goal attempts, including 4-for-12 from behind the arc, but also turned the ball over 21 times.
Prior to the game, the Bears honored seniors Fortes, Johnson, Miller, Veal, Max Dolgin (Randolph, Mass.), Andrew Groth (Uxbridge, Mass.) and Corey Ryser (Tewksbury, Mass.) who were playing in their final regular season home contest.