BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Senior guard Barrett Murphy (Marshfield, Mass.) scored a season-high 16 points to lead the Bridgewater State University men's basketball team to a 58-51 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) victory over visiting Framingham State University on Tuesday night at the Tinsley Center.
The Bears improve to 8-6 on the season and 2-1 in the MASCAC, while the Rams slip to 5-9 overall and 0-3 in conference play.
Murphy connected on 8 of 11 field goal attempts and added four rebounds and a blocked shot.
Senior forward Kyle Gibson (Franklin, Mass.) chipped in with 12 points, six boards, two assists, a block and a pair of steals, while senior guard Justin Clark (Yarmouth Port, Mass.) added nine points, six rebounds two assists and two steals.
Junior guard Joseph McCabe (Canton, Mass.) paced the visiting Rams with 15 points and four rebounds, while senior guard Ronnie DeBarros (New Bedford, Mass.) came off the bench to notched ten points and four boards in 16 minutes.
The first half saw two ties and four lead changes over the first 13 minutes. A three-pointer by junior guard Patrick McGuinness (New City, N.Y.) with 7:05 remaining accounted for the final lead change of the half (and the game). The trifecta also jumpstarted a 10-2 BSU run as the Bears pulled ahead 28-21. Bridgewater would take a 34-26 lead into the break.
The Bears would maintain a single-digit advantage throughout the second half and led 53-46 as the clock ticked under two minutes.
McCabe drained a three-pointer with 1:42 remaining to cut the Rams' deficit to four at 53-49. Gibson made 1 of 2 free throws at the other end of the floor and followed that up with a key steal. Murphy then buried a foul line jumper with 38 seconds left to play to give the Bears a comfortable seven-point cushion (56-49).
The Bears shot 49% (22-45) from the floor and 69% (11-16) from the free throw line while converting on 3 of 6 three-point attempts.
The Rams attempted 12 more shots than the Bears but shot just 35% (20-57) from the floor. Twenty-five of their 57 attempts were from three-point range as the visitors went 8-for-25 (32%) from behind the arc. Framingham also made just five trips (3-for-5) to the charity stripe.
The Bears are back in action on Thursday evening when they travel to UMass Boston to take on the Beacons at 7:30 PM. BSU head coach Joe Farroba will be coaching his 600th collegiate game. The Rams entertain MASCAC foe MCLA on Saturday afternoon at three.