PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Senior guard Fawaz Mass (Taunton, Mass.) scored a game-high 22 points to lead the visiting Bridgewater State University men's basketball team to a 71-65 victory over Rhode Island College on Tuesday night at the Murray Center.

The Bears improve to 3-1 with the non-conference win, while the host Anchormen slip to 2-2.

Mass shot 6-for-9 from the floor and 10-for-13 at the free throw line. He also notched five rebounds, two assists and a game-best five steals.

Junior guard Rocky DeAndrade (Mansfield, Mass.) added 15 points and five boards for the Bears, while senior guard Patrick McGuinness (New City, N.Y.) rounded out the double-figure scorers for BSU with 12 points and four rebounds.

RIC was paced by sophomore guard Jimmy Fritzson (Sharon, Mass.) with 15 points and seven rebounds, while senior forward Domonique Bull (Worcester, Mass.) added 15 points, six boards and two assists in the setback. Junior guard Roosevelt Shider (Meriden, Conn.) notched eight points, four rebounds and three assists for the Anchormen.

Rhode Island College controlled the action early and took its first double-digit lead of the contest when a three-pointer by Fritzson made the score 23-11 with 9:37 left in the first half. Bridgewater climbed back to within nine points on a layup by DeAndrade with 3:08 remaining in the stanza to trim the lead to nine, 33-24. That would be as close as the Bears would get, however, as RIC took an 11-point lead (40-29) heading into the locker room at halftime. RIC forced Bridgewater into ten first half turnovers with the Bears shooting just 38.5 percent (10-for-26) from the field.

The visiting Bears came out strong in the early stages of the second half and used a 22-10 run, capped by a three-pointer by senior forward Greg Romanko (Mansfield, Mass.) with 12:46 left in regulation, to pull ahead by one, 51-50. RIC responded with 10-4 run of its own and took a 60-55 advantage on a layup by sophomore forward Justin Campbell (New Haven, Conn.) with 7:43 on the clock. Another Bridgewater State run knotted the game 65-65 on a three-pointer by DeAndrade with 2:38 remaining. The visiting Bears then closed out the game on a 6-0 run, including four points from the free throw line to secure the 71-65 victory.

RIC shot 42.2 percent (27-for-64) from the field, 33.3 percent (7-for-21) from behind the three-point arc and 80 percent (4-for-5) from free throw line. Bridgewater State shot 42.3 percent (22-for-52) from the field, 26.1 from the three-point line (6-for-23) and 77.8 percent (21-for-27) from free throw line.

RIC held a 36-35 advantage in rebounds for the contest, while Bridgewater State forced the Anchormen into 21 turnovers.

The Bears are off until Thursday, December 1st when they host UMass Dartmouth at 7:00 PM. RIC entertains Brandeis University next Sunday (Nov. 27) at noon.