BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Senior center Zach Valliere (Douglas, Mass.) posted a double-double with 17 points and 14 rebounds to lead the fifth seeded Fitchburg State University Falcons to a 63-60 victory over number four seed Bridgewater State University in the opening round of the 2013 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Men's Basketball Tournament on the Tuesday evening at the Tinsley Center in Bridgewater.
Fitchburg (14-10) advances to the tournament semifinals and will travel to top-seeded Westfield State on Thursday night for a seven o'clock game with the Owls. Bridgewater ends the season with a record of 11-14.
Valliere also added four blocked shots and finished 7-for-11 from the floor. Senior forward Tom Henneberry (Lexington, Mass.) also posted a double-double for the Falcons with 14 points and 11 boards, while classmate Brandon Selby (Baltimore, Md.) chipped in with 12 points.
BSU sophomore forward Michael Lofton (Mansfield, Mass.) paced the hosts with a game-high 20 points to go along with 13 rebounds (four offensive) as he recorded his team-leading 12th double-double of the season. Senior forward Anthony Fortes (Providence, R.I.) added 12 points, four boards and three steals for the Bears, while senior guard Shawn Yard (Brockton, Mass.) finished with ten points, five assists and three steals. Junior guard Brendan Monteiro (Brockton, Mass.) chipped in with 11 points and five rebounds off the bench.
The game was tightly contested throughout with neither team leading by more than six points. Surprisingly, there were only three ties and four lead changes in the contest. It would come down to the final minute of play after a Lofton layup with 1:03 left on the clock pulled the Bears to within one at 59-58. Coming out of a timeout, Fitchburg used up most of the play clock and Valliere was fouled with 28 seconds remaining. He promptly buried both free throws to push the Falcons' lead back to three (61-58).
Monteiro responded with a pair of free throws at the other end of the floor to make it a one-point game again at 61-60 with 15 seconds left. The Bears fouled quickly but Fitchburg junior guard Mike Ingram-Rubin (Boston, Mass.) calmly sank both shots from the charity stripe to give the Falcons the 63-60 advantage. The Bears had two off-balance three-point attempts in the final seconds by Yard and Lofton but neither could find the mark and Fitchburg escaped with the win.
The Falcons shot 45.5% (25-55) from the floor but were just 3-for-12 from three-point range. Selby, however, connected on a big trifecta with six minutes remaining which at the time gave the visitors a six-point lead (53-47). Fitchburg did turn the ball over twenty times, but the Bears managed just 11 points off the Falcons' miscues.
The Bears struggle with their shooting, converting just 34.8% (23-66) of their field goal attempts and finishing 2-for-13 (15.4%) from behind the arc. Bridgewater struggled once again at the charity stripe making just 12 of 19 (63.2%) at the line.