PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Senior guard Eric Alleyne (Watertown, Mass.) scored a game-high 16 points, handed out six assists and corralled seven rebounds as the Rhode Island College men's basketball team edged Bridgewater State University, 58-56, in non-conference action played at The Murray Center on Tuesday evening.
Senior forward Michael Lofton (Mansfield, Mass.) paced the visiting Bears with 13 points, six rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots, while sophomore guard Patrick McGuinness (New City, N.Y.) scored 11 points, recorded four steals and grabbed three boards. Senior guard Barrett Murphy (Marshfield, Mass.) added 13 points in 24 minutes off the bench.
Bridgewater (2-3) raced out to an 11-4 lead after McGuinness grabbed an offensive rebound and scored a layup with 15:13 remaining. Rhode Island College (4-1) answered back with an 18-0 run capped by an Alleyne layup with 10:51 left.
The Anchormen increased their lead to 13 points, 30-17, on a pair of Alleyne free throws with 4:23 remaining in the stanza and held a 35-25 advantage at the break.
RIC shot 50% (13-26) from the field in the half, while shooting 64% (9-14) from the free throw line. Bridgewater State shot 48% (11-23) from the field but went just 1-for-5 from the charity stripe.
The Bears used a 12-4 run to open the second half and cut the RIC lead to two, 39-37, with 12:41 remaining in regulation. They continued their comeback, finally taking the lead (44-43) on a steal and layup by Lofton with 8:52 left to play.
A pair of free throws from RIC senior forward Patrick Matthews (Waipahu, Hawaii) with 5:13 remaining capped a 10-0 run as the Anchormen pulled ahead, 53-44.
The Bears responded with a 12-2 run over the next four minutes and took a 56-55 lead with just under 90 seconds remaining on a jumper by senior forward Kyle Gibson (Franklin, Mass).
Matthews sealed the victory for the Anchormen in the final minute by making 1-of-2 free throws with 59 seconds left and laying in a feed from senior forward Chris Burton (New Rochelle, N.Y.) with 29 ticks left on the clock. A last second shot by Lofton was off the mark, giving the Anchormen the 58-56 victory.
Matthews finished with 13 points to go along with four rebounds. The Anchormen shot 44% (21-48) from the field, but connected on just 1 of 11 three-point attempts and went 15-for-25 (60%) at the line.
BSU shot 51% (20-39) from the field and 36% (5-14) from behind the three-point arc. The Bears were better at the free throw line in the second half (10-13), but still struggled at the charity stripe for the third straight game.