FRAMINGHAM, Mass. – The Framingham State University men's basketball team erased a seven point deficit late in the second half and took the lead for good on a three by senior Rico DePaolis (Watertown, Mass.) with 3:43 remaining as they defeated the Bridgewater State University Bears 77-74 this evening in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic (MASCAC) action at Framingham's Athletic Center.

With the win the Rams improve to 1-1 in the conference and 8-6 overall, while the Bears are now 6-6 on the year and 1-1 in the MASCAC.

Sophomore Patrick Cuff (Medway, Mass.) led the Rams with 18 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the floor to go along with seven rebounds and a pair of steals. Senior Tyrone Figueroa (Revere, Mass.) chipped in 16 points off the bench, while freshman Tim Sheridan (Rutland, Mass.) contributed a double-double with 13 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. DePaolis finished the game with nine points, including the big three late in the second half.

The Bears were led by senior guard Shawn Yard (Brockton, Mass.) who tallied 20 points and five assists, while classmate Anthony Fortes (Providence, RI) added 17 points on 6-of-9 from the field. Sophomore forward Michael Lofton (Mansfield, Mass.) chipped in 15 points and seven rebounds and Kyle Gibson (Franklin, Mass.) added nine and seven.

The Rams used a 14-1 run to break a 24-24 tie and open up a 38-25 lead with just under four minutes remaining in the first. Figueroa capped the spurt with a driving bucket and a three pointer, while Sheridan started the spurt with a pair of lay-ins.

The Bears would make short work of the Rams lead as they answered with their own 14-1 run capped by a pair of freebies and a bucket from yard to send the game into the half with the Rams leading by one (40-39).

The Bears took a seven point lead four minutes into the second half, but the Rams chipped away at the lead and eventually took an eight point lead of their own (70-62) with 6:41 on the clock. The Bears would once again answer with a run and tied the game and took the lead on a pair of Fortes free throws with 3:53 left. On the ensuing possession DePaolis would miss his first attempt at a three, but the rebound bounced right back to him and he calmly nailed the jumper putting the Rams on top for good.

The Bears cut the Rams lead to one (75-74) with 1:24 left in the game on a jumper in the paint by Fortes, but Figueroa hit a cutting Cuff going to the basket for a layup with 10 seconds remaining to push the lead back to three. After a timeout, the Bears had one last chance, but they turned the ball over sealing the win for the Rams.

The Rams return to action on Saturday afternoon at Fitchburg State University at 3 p.m., while the Bears travel to UMass Boston on Thursday for a 7 p.m. tilt.