BOSTON, Mass. -- Led by tournament MVP, senior guard Rocky DeAndrade (Mansfield, Mass.), the Bridgewater State University men's basketball team captured the 33rd Annual Harbor Invitational championship as the visiting Bears edged host UMass Boston, 82-78, in the title game on Saturday afternoon at the Clark Athletic Center.
The Bears improve to 4-2 on the season with their third straight win. The host Beacons fall to 3-1 with their first loss of the 2017-2018 campaign.
DeAndrade tallied 15 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals in the championship game win. Eleven of his 15 points came in the second half including a trio of three-pointers.
Five different Bears scored in double figures led by a season-high 17 points from senior center Dakari Hannah-Wornum (Boston, Mass.). Hannah-Wornum shot 5-for-6 from the floor and 7-for-8 at the free throw line in 19 minutes off the bench. He also grabbed six rebounds (three offensive).
Sophomore guard Ryan Carney (Easton, Mass.) finished with 15 points on 6 of 10 shooting to go along with four rebounds and two blocked shots. Eleven of his 15 points came in the second half. Sophomore guard Brian Grant (Hyde Park, Mass.) checked in with 11 points on 5 of 6 shooting, while sophomore forward Dimitri St. Louis (Brockton, Mass.) scored ten points off the bench. St. Louis connected on 4 of 5 field goal attempts, grabbed a pair of rebounds and blocked two shots in just 11 minutes of action.
UMass led 37-31 at the break and 39-31 early in the second half. The Bears battled back and outscored the Beacons 16-6 over the next five minutes to take a 47-45 lead with just under 15 minutes remaining in the contest. Carney scored nine points during the run. He tied the game at 45-45 with a three-pointer and moments later put the Bears ahead with a layup.
The game stayed close over the next five-minute stretch with the Bears holding on to a 57-55 lead with 9:18 on the clock. DeAndrade and St. Louis then led BSU on a 15-4 run to seemingly take control of the game. St. Louis scored seven points during the run, while DeAndrade knocked down a pair of three-pointers.
UMass, however, rallied with a 15-4 run over the next four-plus minutes. A traditional three-point play by senior forward Kevin Louis-Jean (Hyde Park, Mass.) capped off the run and made it a two-point game, 76-74, with under a minute left.
Following a BSU turnover, the Beacons had a chance to tie, but Louis-Jean's jumper was off the mark. DeAndrade converted a pair of free throws at the other end of the floor to push the Bears' advantage back up to four, 78-74, with 32 seconds showing on the scoreboard. A quick layup by sophomore guard Ty Lee (Boston, Mass.) was answered by a breakaway layup by Grant. UMass had two chances on the ensuing possession, but could not score. Carney converted 1 of 2 at the free throw line to give the Bears an 81-76 lead with eight seconds remaining. UMB freshman guard Charlie Mitchell (Boston, Mass.) drove the length of the floor to cut the deficit to three, but Carney drained a pair of free throws with just three seconds left to put the finishing touches on the Bridgewater State victory.
Louis-Jean and Mitchell led all players with 21 points apiece, while freshman guard Michael Boyd (Malden, Mass.) added 14 points for the Corsairs.
Bridgewater shot 58% (29-50) for the game and 39% (7-18) from behind the arc. The Bears also converted 17 of 23 (74%) free throw attempts.
UMass shot 43% (32-74) from the floor and went 7-for-20 (35%) from three-point range. The Corsairs, however, made just eight trips (7-8) to the free throw line.
The BSU bench outscored the UMB reserves by a decided margin of 31-12.
In upcoming action, the Bears travel to UMass Dartmouth on Thursday night for a seven o'clock game with the Corsairs, while the Beacons entertain the Engineers of MIT on Tuesday night at seven.