BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Led by the hot three-point shooting of senior guard Brendan McDonald (Dorchester, Mass.), the Bridgewater State University men's basketball team overcame a 15-point first half deficit as the Bears downed the visiting Polar Bears of Bowdoin College, 79-65, on Tuesday evening at the Tinsley Center.
The Bears improve to 10-11 with the victory, while the Polar Bears slip to 12-9. The win marked the 298th career coaching victory for BSU skipper Joe Farroba. Farroba has produced an overall mark of 298-255 (.539) in his 21 seasons at the helm.
McDonald finished with a season-high 19 points as he knocked down five three-pointers. Senior forward Anthony Fortes (Providence, R.I.) added 17 points (7 of 10 shooting) to go along with six rebounds, four assists and a pair of blocked shots, while sophomore forward Michael Lofton (Mansfield, Mass.) posted a double-double with ten points and 12 boards. Senior guard Shawn Yard (Brockton, Mass.) chipped in with nine points and a game-high eight assists.
Trailing 42-27 with 2:34 remaining in the first half, the Bears closed out the stanza with ten unanswered points capped off by back-to-back three-pointers by McDonald. The two teams would head to the intermission with Bowdoin holding a 42-37 advantage.
A pair of Fortes' free throws followed by another McDonald trifecta tied the game up at 42-42 to open the second half. Fortes then gave the Bears their first lead of the evening (44-42) with a driving layup at the 17:38 mark.
From the closing minutes of the first half until the 5:22 mark of the second, a span of approximately 17 minutes, the Bears held the Polar Bears to just nine points. That would include a 22-0 run which encompassed both halves. McDonald knocked down four of his five trifectas during the run.
The Bridgewater lead ballooned to 20 points (73-53) on a McDonald layup with 4:48 remaining. Bowdoin used a 10-2 late second half run to cut the deficit to 12 (75-63), but that would be as close as the Polar Bears would get.
After watching the visitors shoot 59% (16-27) from the floor in the first half, the Bears used stifling defensive pressure to force ten turnovers and limit the Polar Bears to 39% (10-26) shooting over the final twenty minutes.
Bridgewater shot 49% (31-63) for the game including 9-for-18 (50%) from three-point range. The Bears also recorded 19 assists on 31 made field goals and turned the ball over just four times.
Bowdoin was led by sophomore forward Keegan Pieri (Camden, Maine) who finished with 16 points and seven rebounds. Twelve of Pieri's team-high 16 points came in the first half. Junior guard Andrew Madlinger (Basking Ridge, N.J.) added 12 points, while junior guard Matt Mathias (Baltimore, Md.) tallied 11 points and four assists. Sophomore center John Swords (Sudbury, Mass.) came off the bench to score ten points and pull down five boards.
In upcoming action, the Bears travel to Worcester State University on Saturday for a MASCAC tilt with the Lancers. Tip-off is slated for 5:30 PM. Bowdoin heads to NESCAC rival Wesleyan University on Friday evening at six.