BRIDGWATER, Mass. -- Senior forward Michael Lofton (Mansfield, Mass.) poured in a career-high 33 points to lead second-seeded Bridgewater State University to a 93-85 overtime victory over #3 Fitchburg State University in the semifinal round of the 2015 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) Men's Basketball Tournament on Thursday night at the Tinsley Center.
With the win, the Bears (18-7) advance to the MASCAC Tournament Championship Game for the second straight season and sixth time in the last seven years. BSU will travel to Westfield State University on Saturday afternoon to take on the top-seeded Owls at 3:00 PM. Westfield State posted a 96-75 win over #4 Salem State University in the other semifinal round contest.
Fitchburg State falls to 15-12 with the setback. The Falcons will await word on a potential ECAC Tournament bid.
Lofton, who connected on 13 of 18 field goal attempts, also finished with 12 rebounds as he recorded his eighth consecutive double-double and 14th of the season. Senior forward Kyle Gibson (Franklin,Mass.) added 19 points and nine rebounds for the Bears, while senior guards Justin Clark (Yarmouth Port, Mass.) and Barrett Murphy (Marshfield, Mass.) chipped in with 11 points apiece.
Fitchburg State junior guard Keyon Armstrong (Brockton, Mass.) led all players with a career-high 36 points. Armstrong was on fire all game long as he finished 11 for 15 from the floor, including 7-for-11 from three-point range, as well as a perfect 7-for-7 at the free throw line.
Junior forward Givaughn Jones (Dorchester, Mass.) added 13 points and five rebounds for the Falcons, while sophomore forward Troy DaCosta (Cambridge, Mass.) tallied ten points and nine boards.
The Bears held a 40-34 advantage at the break despite Armstrong's 17 first-half points. Lofton paced the hosts with 14 points in the opening stanza, while Gibson scored ten.
Armstrong keyed a 14-3 Fitchburg run early in second half as the Falcons erased an eight-point deficit (42-34) to take a 48-45 lead. Armstrong scored ten points during the spurt.
The Bears answered with seven straight points to reclaim the lead. A Lofton traditional three-point play tied the game, while Clark followed with a lay-up and Murphy drained a pair of free throws to give the hosts a 52-48 lead at the 13:21 mark.
The Bears did not trail again in regulation but also led by no more than five points.
Leading by just two late in the game, Lofton made 1 of 2 free throws with 1:57 remaining to give the Bears a 72-69 lead. Junior guard Anthony Muccioli (Nashua, N.H.) made 1 of 2 at the line on the Falcons' ensuing possession to make it a two-point game, 72-70. Following a missed BSU three-pointer, DaCosta knocked down a lay-up off a nice feed from Armstrong to knot the score at 72-72 with 35 seconds left in regulation.
Out of time-out, the Bears had a chance to win the game but Lofton was unable to convert with time ticking down as the game headed to overtime.
In the extra session, a pair of free throws by sophomore guard Fawaz Mass (Taunton, Mass.) was answered by an Armstrong lay-up. Lofton then made 1 of 2 at the line to put the Bears up 75-74.
Jones drove strong to the hoops to give their Falcons their first lead since early in the second half. That lead was short-lived however as Gibson nailed a three-pointer to put the Bears back on top, 78-76. Following a stop, Gibson converted a pair of free throws to increase the BSU advantage to 80-76 with 2:56 remaining. Two possessions later, Lofton made 1 of 2 at the charity stripe to make it an 81-76 game.
The Falcons would not go down without a fight as Armstrong drove to the hoop for a lay-up, was fouled and converted the free throw to cut the deficit to 81-79. But Mass answered with a jumper to put BSU back up by four, 83-79.
FSU sophomore forward Jalen Williams (Meriden, Conn.) made 1 of 2 free throws with 1:17 remaining to make it a one possession game. Lofton, however, converted a huge driving lay-up with the shot clock winding down to give the Bears the 85-80 advantage with just 49 seconds showing on the scoreboard.
A quick layup by Jones was answered by a pair of free throws by McGuinness with 35 seconds left. Sophomore forward Michael Soares (Milford, Mass.) would put the finishing touches on the BSU victory with a pair of thundering breakaway dunks in the final 21 seconds.
For the game, the Bears shot 50% (29-58) from the floor and went 29-for-35 (83%) at the free throw line. The Falcons converted on 47% (29-62) of their field goal attempt and connected on 20 of 25 (80%) free throw attempts.
The Bears held slight advantages in points of turnovers (19-15), second chance points (10-7) and bench points (16-15), while points in the paint was even at 38 apiece. The game featured 13 ties and eight lead changes.
Notes: With his 33 points, Lofton moved past BSU Hall of Famer Joe Wise (1,451 pts.) into eighth place on the Bears' all-time scoring list as he now has 1,471 in his career.