By Jim Fenton
BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University men's basketball team is once again the No. 2 seed in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament.
The Bears have an opening-round bye and will host the highest remaining seed among No. 3 Westfield State University, the No. 4 Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and No. 5 Salem State University Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at the Tinsley Center.
BSU was also the No. 2 seed a year ago and lost in the semifinal round to third-seeded Westfield State, 89-79, with the Owls advancing to a fourth consecutive MASCAC title game.
Westfield State (18-7, 9-3 MASCAC) opens the tournament with a home game Tuesday night against Fitchburg State (3-22, 1-11). The other matchup that night has MCLA (13-11, 7-5) hosting Salem State (12-12, 5-7).
Defending champion Worcester State University (16-9, 10-2) and BSU (13-11, 9-3) have the byes. The Bears earned the No. 2 spot through a tiebreaker with Westfield State.
The championship game will take place on Saturday afternoon with the winner going to the NCAA Division 3 tournament.
BSU opened the season by going 3-7 with six losses in seven games in the first semester and rebounded to go 10-4 after the break.
The Bears were riding a seven-game winning streak before losing the regular-season finale at Westfield State last Wednesday, 70-66.
Because BSU had a bye on the final day of the MASCAC regular season and has a bye in the tourney, it will have seven idle days in between games.
"We have what we have and we've got to work through it," said second-year coach Matt McLaughlin of the time off. "This is what it is. If anything, it allows us to get a little bit more rest, recharge, recover and be ready to go on Thursday.
"We put ourselves in an advantage with a bye and now we have to continue to practice well and continue to build and improve throughout practice so we're ready for the game."
The Bears were looking to end the regular season with an eighth straight win, but they scored just four points in the final three minutes in the loss at Westfield State after holding a 62-60 lead.
"We feel good," said McLaughlin. "Obviously, we weren't hoping to lose on Wednesday, but we like where we're at. As unfortunate as the loss was, I think we learned a lot from it.
"The sting lasting a little bit longer helps us learn from it, reflect more and make the adjustments that we need to make and continue to sharpen our skills and be ready for whoever we have on Thursday."
BSU has five players averaging in double figures, led by senior Precious Okoh (Brockton, Mass.). He has played 14 games and averages 18.9 points and 5.6 rebounds.
Sophomore Dante Kikuba (Framingham, Mass.) scores 14.5 points with 4.9 assists and freshman Josh Campbell (Plymouth, Mass.) is at 12.5 points.
Graduate student Emerson Halbleib (Carmel, Ind.) is averaging 11.9 points and 10.5 rebounds (second in the MASCAC) while freshman Zach Taylor (Quincy, Mass.) averages 10 points.
The Bears did not have Okoh during the first semester and were getting newcomers adapted to the system, which led to some early-season struggles.
"I was not expecting it to be as challenging as it was," said McLaughlin, "and not even so much the basketball side of things but trying to communicate with the guys and get them on the same page.
"I think we had some resistance early in the season just because we lost a few games. Last year, we went 9-0. We had new guys and were trying new combinations. We also dealt with injuries. Returners had their roles adjusted.
"Trying to work through all that and on top of losing, you're trying to get everyone to stay on the same wave length and positive, it was definitely challenging especially when you know you have a talented group."
The return of Okoh just before the start of MASCAC games was a boost that helped the Bears make a run at the regular-season championship.
The Bears went 8-4 in the MASCAC a year ago, then lost to Westfield State at home, 89-79, in the tournament, falling behind by as many as 23 in the second half.
Should the Owls defeat Fitchburg State, then it will be a rematch at the Tinsley Center on Thursday.
"It's definitely a motivator," said McLaughlin of the semifinal-round loss a year ago. "What's great is a lot of the guys that are going to get a lot of minutes were in that game last year, and they know what it's like."
BSU split its two regular-season games with Westfield State, winning, 81-75, on Jan. 20.
There has only been one repeat champion in the MASCAC the past 11 seasons -- Westfield State -- and this year's tourney appears to be up for grabs. The Bears are bidding for their first title since 2018.
"It makes it more competitive," said McLaughlin. "It's wide open. Obviously, I'm biased, but I think it's ours for the taking if we can execute, take care of the ball and play in our style. It's our turn now to fulfill our potential and we have until Thursday to figure it out."