BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – The Bridgewater State University men's basketball team has been selected to compete in the ECAC Division III New England Tournament for the fourth time in program history and first since 1998.
The Bears are seeded fourth in the seven-team tournament and will host fifth-seeded Wentworth in opening round play on Wednesday night at seven.
The Wentworth/Bridgewater winner will travel to top seeded WPI (18-7) for a semifinal matchup with the Engineers on Saturday. Rounding out the remaining teams in the tournament are number two seed Salve Regina University (19-9), third-seeded Elms College (17-10), number six seed Anna Maria College (14-14) and seventh seed Husson University (15-12). Salve hosts Husson, while Elms entertains Anna Maria in the other first round matchups.
Bridgewater enters the tournament with a record of 15-11 after dropping an 83-71 decision to Salem State University in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) championship game on Saturday. The Bears were the second seed in the MASCAC Tournament after posting a 9-3 conference regular season record.
Bridgewater is led by All-MASCAC seniors Anthony Fortes (Forward, Providence, R.I.) and Samuel Johnson (Center, No. Chelmsford, Mass.). Fortes is averaging 14.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game while Johnson checks in with per game averages of 14.2 points and 8.0 rebounds.
Senior guard Corey Ryser (Tewksbury, Mass.) rounds out the Bears' top three scorers, averaging 11.4 points per contest while shooting 37% (28-76) from three-point range. Junior guard Shawn Yard (Brockton, Mass.) heads into the tournament with 3.8 assists and 2.2 steals per game, while freshman Michael Lofton (Mansfield, Mass.) has come off the bench to average 6.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.5 blocked shots with a .650 (76-117) shooting percentage.
Wentworth enters the game with a 17-10 record after finishing second in the Commonwealth Coast Conference. Wentworth lost to Endicott, 71-67, in the CCC Tournament semifinals. The Leopards are paced by junior Corey Therriault (Auburn, Maine), who is averaging 12.1 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.7 steals per game. Senior guard Adam Dombrowski (Dunstable, Mass.) is averaging 10.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game, while sophomore guard Derek Mayo (Casco, Maine) is averaging 9.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 2.1 steals per game. Senior guard Eric Prue (Auburn, Maine) is averaging 9.1 points per game and leads the team with 53 three-pointers made.
Wednesday's meeting will be the 12th all-time between Wentworth and Bridgewater with the Bears holding an 8-3 series advantage. The two teams have not met since a Bridgewater State 66-55 win over the Leopards on December 4, 2001 in Boston. In ECAC Tournament history, Wentworth holds a 1-0 series advantage, picking up an 85-73 home win in the Black & Gold's first-ever ECAC Tournament appearance in 1998. The 1998 tournament marked the Bears’ third consecutive appearance.