BRIDGEWATER, Mass. - Senior guard Tom Cuddihy (Scituate, MA) poured in a season-high 28 points to lead Bridgewater State College over the visiting MCLA Trailblazers, 84-67, in MASCAC men's basketball action on Tuesday evening at the Tinsley Center.
The Bears snap a three-game losing streak and improve their record to 10-11 on the season and 3-5 in MASCAC play while MCLA falls to 6-16 overall and 1-7 in conference play.
For Bridgewater State, junior forward Roland Millien (Stoughton, MA) notched his eight double-double of the season with 21 points and 15 rebounds while sophomore guard Matt McLaughlin (Rochester, MA) tallied 7 points and a season-high 11 assists. Freshman forward Judah Jackson (Everett, MA) added 14 points while senior center Dwayne Wilkerson (East Providence, RI) chipped in with 6 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 blocked shots.
Cuddihy connected for his 28 points (18 in second half) on 11-for-19 shooting from the field. He was 3-for-9 from beyond the three-point arc and was a perfect 3-for-3 from the charity stripe. With his 28 points tonight, Cuddihy's career total now stands at 1,416 points which is good for ninth all-time on the BSC scoring list.
MCLA was led by senior forward Diante Ellis (Jacksonville, FL), who notched a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds while classmate Dave Bisesi (Syracuse, NY) scored a team-high 18 points. Freshman forward Jon Greenberg (South Yarmouth, MA) registered 12 points and 8 rebounds while senior center Henry Schrader (Fitchburg, MA) grabbed 10 rebounds.
Bridgewater State finished the game with an impressive 22 assists while only turning the ball over 8 times. The Bears also held a slim 41-37 rebounding advantage, including a 22-14 edge on the offensive glass.
MCLA led 22-17 with 11:04 remaining in the first half when BSC went on a 13-1 run over the next 6 ½ minutes to go up 30-23. Bridgewater State would build the lead up to 11 points until Bisesi hit a three-point shot in the closing seconds of the first half to send the teams to the locker room with a halftime score of 39-31.
In the second half, the Bears would build up a 15 point lead at 49-34 before the Trailblazers rallied to pull to within three (60-57) with 8:52 to go. Leading 67-61 at the 7:18 mark, BSC would go on an 11-0 run to put the game away.
Both teams will face Worcester State in the next week. MCLA will travel to Worcester, MA to play a 2 o'clock game on Saturday and then the Bears will take the week off and entertain the Lancers next Tuesday at 8 P.M.