LEICESTER, Mass. – Ryan Carney (Easton, Mass.) scored a career-high 29 points and came up with a clutch steal and two free throws at the end of regulation to lead the visiting Bridgewater State University men's basketball team to a dramatic 73-72 overtime victory over Becker College on Saturday afternoon at Leicester Gymnasium.
The Bears improve to 1-5 with their first win of the 2018-2019 campaign, while the host Hawks fall to 1-5.
Carney connected on 12 of 20 field goal attempts and added three rebounds, a pair of steals and a game-high six assists. Rayshon Ward (Fayetteville, N.C.) checked in with 14 points, five rebounds and four blocked shots for the Bears.
Dewayne Thomas (Lowell, Mass.) paced Becker with 22 points and 12 rebounds as he recorded his second double-double of the season. Thomas also dished out four assists in the setback. Three other Hawks scored in double-digit figures. Kareem Davis (Lowell, Mass.) had 17 points, Mateus Ribeiro (Sao Paulo, Brazil) notched 16, and Jamie Carr (Philadelphia, Pa.) registered 13. Ribeiro was two rebounds short of a double-double.
Trailing 64-59 with time winding down in the second half, BSU's Corey Green (Taunton, Mass.) knocked down a clutch three-pointer with seven seconds showing on the scoreboard. Carney then stole the inbounds pass, was fouled on an attempted layup and calmly sank broke free throws with three seconds remaining to send the game into overtime.
The overtime session saw three lead changes and one tie. A Jonathan Mercado (Lynn, Mass.) trifecta put the Bears up 69-68, but Carr answered with a layup to reclaim the lead for the Hawks. Becker was unable to capitalize on a BSU turnover and Carney knocked down a jumper with two minutes remaining to put the Bears up for good, 71-70. The Hawks had multiple chances to move back in front but turned the ball over on each of their next two possessions. Ward knocked down a pair of free throws to make it a three-point game (73-70) with just 15 seconds left to play. On the ensuing possession, Becker went for a three and was unable to capitalize, however Carr grabbed the offensive rebound and dropped in a layup to bring the Hawks to within one with five seconds to go. Bridgewater State, however, would hold on for the victory.
Becker led 34-33 at the intermission. An 8-0 run sparked by four points apiece from Thomas and Ribeiro in the early stages of the second half gave the Hawks a 44-37 lead. The Bears responded with five straight points, three from Carney, to close the gap to two (44-42) with 11:44 remaining in regulation. The teams went back-and-forth, but Becker led 62-57 with 18 seconds on the clock. Carney came through with a layup with 13 seconds on the clock, but Becker pushed back the lead to five with a pair of Davis foul shots. That would set the stage for the Bears' late heroics.
Each team shot 42% from the field and under 20% from beyond the arc. Becker held a 41-38 edge in rebounds while turnovers were even at 12 apiece.
Both teams are back in action on Tuesday (Dec. 4) evening. The Hawks host New England Collegiate Conference (NECC) foe Lesley University at 7:30, while the Bears travel to Wheaton College for a seven o'clock game with the Lyons.