By Jim Fenton, The Enterprise (Brockton)
BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – The Bridgewater State University men’s basketball team concluded the 2014 portion of its schedule on an upbeat note.
The Bears headed into the semester break with an 84-77 overtime victory over MIT, ranked 15th in the national Division III poll, on Saturday afternoon at the Tinsley Center.
BSU has put together a three-game winning streak to improve to 5-3 after losing three games by a grand total of five points in November.
“This is what we’ve been in all year,” said Bears coach Joe Farroba after slipping past the shorthanded Engineers. “You could make a case we could be undefeated. I’m looking back and looking at the losses (to New Jersey City by a point and to Clark University and Rhode Island College by two points each).
“Right now, we’ve got some pretty good chemistry and I’m hoping we can maintain it.”
BSU was unable to finish MIT (7-3, two straight losses) in regulation after holding a 68-63 lead with 37 seconds remaining.
But then the Engineers – who were missing three key players – put together a rally with Tim Butala hitting a pair of 3-pointers with 11 and 1.4 seconds left.
The first long-range shot pulled MIT to 71-70. Then, after Bridgewater’s Michael Lofton hit two free throws, Butala got open and connected to make it 73-73 as time was running out.
Instead of being deflated, though, the Bears regrouped and dominated overtime. They outscored MIT, 11-4, in the extra session, going on a 9-2 run after falling behind, 75-74 with 3:53 to go.
“Obviously, it was adversity,” said Farroba of having to go into OT. “The good thing was we picked up our heads. It’s good that it happened at home because I don’t know if you win that game on the road.”
In the overtime, Justin Clark hit a 3-pointer to open an 80-75 lead, then hit a foul shot in the final minute to make the lead six points.
The Bears, who have struggled from the line, hit 26 of 35 in the game, outscoring MIT by 20 free throws.
“In overtime, we really had some great execution and guys made foul shots, which has been our problem this year,’’ said Farroba. “We’ve been doing different drills on foul shooting and hopefully it’s paying off.”
BSU’s Kyle Gibson had a game-high 26 points on 9-for-12 shooting, getting 19 of his points after the break.
“He’s a good player and he’s undersized for his position,” said Farroba. “One of the things he’s gotten better at is he can step out and hit the outside shot now. That’s big.”
Lofton contributed 23 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and three steals and became the program’s all-time leader with his 134th blocked shot.
“He’s a great Division III player,” said Farroba. “You’re talking about someone on a pace to finish with 1,500 points and 800 rebounds. We’re blessed to have him.”
Freshman Rocky DeAndrade came off the bench to deliver 11 points in 18 minutes for the Bears, who next play on Jan. 2 against Manhattanville at the NYU Holiday Classic.
“That was a good win,” said Farroba, whose team held a 35-31 halftime lead. “I thought it was a great team win. Everybody contributed. We needed that one. That would have been a tough one to lose.”