BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Senior guard Rocky DeAndrade (Mansfield, Mass.) tallied 15 points, including the 1,000th of his career, to lead the Bridgewater State University men's basketball team to a 68-58 victory over visiting Fitchburg State University in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) contest on Thursday night at the Tinsley Center.
The Bears improve to 12-7 on the season and 5-1 in the MASCAC, while the Falcons fall to 7-11 overall and 3-3 in conference play.
DeAndrade, who also finished with a game-high seven assists as well as three rebounds, buried a pair of free throws with 1:48 remaining in the game to reach the milestone. He became the 28th player in BSU men's basketball history to join the 1,000-point club.
Sophomore guard Ryan Carney (Easton, Mass.) also finished with 15 points for the Bears, while sophomore forward Rayshon Ward (Plymouth, Mass.) notched a double-double with 14 points and ten rebounds. Senior forward Joseph Carty (Natick, Mass.) pulled down a game-high 16 rebounds, including eight offensive boards, to go along with seven points and four assists.
Junior guard Nicholas Tracy (Indianapolis, Ind.) poured in a game-best 23 points to lead the way for Fitchburg State. Tracy, who scored 19 of his 23 points in the second half, went 9-for-14 from the floor and also added seven rebounds and a game-high four steals.
Bridgewater led 30-23 at the break as both teams struggled with their shooting. The Bears shot 33% (10-30) in the opening stanza, including 5-for-15 (33%) from behind the arc, and turned the ball over ten times. The Falcons connected on just 31% (9-29) of their field goal attempts over the first 20 minutes.
Ward led all players with eight first-half points, while sophomore forward Dimitri St. Louis (Brockton, Mass.) tallied six.
Hanging on to a three-point lead (37-34) in the early stages of the second half, the Bears used a 9-0 run, highlighted by back-to-back three-point plays by Carney and senior center Mike Wiederkehr (Bremgarten, Switzerland), to open up a double-digit advantage, 46-34, with 12 minutes remaining.
Despite multiple opportunities, the Falcons were never able to get any closer than eight points the rest of the way. DeAndrade went 5-for-6 at the line over the final 1:48 to help close out the victory for the Bears.
Both teams shot under 40% for the game. The Bears went 22-for-56 (39%) from the floor, 8-for-24 (33%) from behind the arc and 16-for-24 (67%) at the stripe. Bridgewater came away with the win despite turning the ball over 21 times.
The Falcons converted just 22 of their 62 field goal attempts (36%) and finished 3-for-16 (19%) from long range. Fitchburg also went 11-for-18 (61%) at the line.
The Bears are off until next Monday night at seven when they travel to MCLA to take on the Trailblazers in a MASCAC matchup. The Falcons travel to Framingham State University on Saturday afternoon for a three o'clock conference game with the Rams.