PAXTON, Mass. – Sophomore guard Dante Kikuba (Framingham, Mass.) poured in a career-high 40 points as the visiting Bridgewater State University men's basketball team opened the 2023-2024 season with a 119-110 overtime victory over Anna Maria College on Wednesday night at the Fuller Center.

Kikuba, who added five rebounds, nine assists and a game-best six steals, connected on 13 of 24 field goal attempts, including 4-for-11 from behind the arc, and went 10-for-13 at the free throw line. He was just six points shy of John Hickey's school record of 46 points set in February of 1992.

The Bears' 119 points marked the most in the game since the 1974 team set the school record with 119 point in regulaiton in a 119-87 win over F8tcburg State on December 10th of 1974.

Kikuba was one of six Bears to finish in double-figure scoring. Graduate center Emerson Halbleib (Carmel, Ind.) posted a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds (four offensive) while freshman forward Josh Campbell (Plymouth, Mass.) tallied 15 points, six boards and four assists in his collegiate debut and freshman guard Zach Taylor (Quincy, Mass.) notched 12 points in his first collegiate contest. Sophomore forward Louis Jennings (Walpole, Mass.) came off the bench to record 11 points and eight caroms (four offensive) in 21 minutes, and junior forward Keyth Key (Springfield, Mass.) registered ten points and four rebounds (three offensive) in 21 minutes off the pine.

Sophomore guard Ray Carter Jr. (East Longmeadow, Mass.) led a contingent of five AMCATS in double-figure scoring. Carter Jr. scored 24 points to go along with six rebounds and five assists while senior forward Gabe Armstead (Dallas, Ga.) filled the stat sheet with 21 points, eight boards, nine assists, three steals and five blocked shots. Sophomore forward Jopaul Mckrieth (Springfield, Mass.) posted a double-double with 19 points and 12 caroms (four offensive) and junior guard Sean Zabari (Miami Fla.) added 17 points, six rebounds and four assists. Junior guard Jayden Dickerson (Springfield, Mass.) contributed 16 points in 15 minutes off the bench.

A 16-4 Anna Maria run capped off by a Dickerson three-pointer gave the host AMCATS a 49-38 lead with just under three minutes remaining in the first half. Dickerson knocked down a pair of three-pointers during the run while Armstead added five points. The Bears, however, closed out the stanza with a 12-3 spurt to make it a two-point game (52-50) at the break. Kikuba started the run with a traditional three-point play and capped it off with a trifecta.

Kikuba scored 20 points over the first 20 minutes while Dickerson led Anna Maria with 11 points and Mckrieth added ten. The Bears shot 43% (18-42) from the floor in the first half while the AMCATS connected on 45% (18-40) of their field goal attempts.

The second half went down to the wire with neither team leading by more than five points in the period. Carter Jr. drained a three-pointer to give the AMCATS a 96-95 lead with 1:15 left to play. Kikuba knocked down a pair of free throws with 54 seconds left to put the Bears back on top, 97-96. Carter Jr. made one of two free throws at the other end of the floor to knot the score at 97-97 with 41 seconds showing on the scoreboard. The next two possession resulted in missed buckets before Kikuba knocked down one of two at the line with 9.9 seconds remaining to give the hosts a one-point lead. Carter was fouled at the other end with 4.7 seconds left and made the first free throw but missed the second as the game headed to overtime.

Down one (107-106) with under three minutes remaining in the overtime session, the Bears used a 12-1 run to take a 118-108 lead with just 42 seconds left to play. Kikuba scored five points and Halbleib added a pair of dunks while the AMCATS went 0-for-5 from the floor, 1-for-4 at the line and turned the ball over five times during the game-deciding run.

Bridgewater went 8-for-11 (72.7%) from the floor in the overtime period and 4-for-6 at the free throw line. Anna Maria converted on just 4 of 11 (36.4%) field goal attempts in the extra session, including 1-for-5 from three-point range, and the AMCATS went 3-for-7 (42.9%) at the line.

The Bears shot 47.9% (45-94) for the game and finished 8-for-24 (33%) from behind the arc and 21-for-29 (72.4%) at the charity stripe. Bridgewater held a 61-48 rebounding advantage on the evening with a 22-15 edge on the offensive glass which led to an 18-8 differential in second chance points. The Bears also dominated inside outscoring the AMCATS in the paint by a decisive margin of 72-38.

Both teams committed 24 turnovers.

The AMCATS finished with shooting percentages of 45.3% (39-86) from the floor, 32.4% (11-34) from three-point range and 60% (21-35) at the stripe.

The Bears (1-0) are back in action on Saturday afternoon when they travel to Nichols College for a three o'clock game with the Bison. The AMCATS (0-1) head to Amherst College on Friday evening to take on the Mammoths at six.