By Jim Fenton

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The shorthanded Bridgewater State University men's basketball team fell to .500 with its second straight loss Saturday afternoon.

The Bears fell behind by 21 points in the first half, cut the deficit to two points before halftime but were no match the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth in the second half.

BSU dropped to 4-4 with a 95-71 loss to the Corsairs at the Tinsley Center, the second straight game the Bears have allowed more than 90 points.

Playing without leading scorer Josh Campbell (Plymouth) and Zach Taylor (Quincy, Mass.), two sophomore starters sidelined with injury, BSU has now lost eight of its last nine games in the series with UMass Dartmouth.

"It's huge," said coach Matt McLaughlin of not having Campbell and Taylor. "It's two guys who play a bulk of minutes. But the guys we had were
capable of winning the game.

"I felt completely confident in the group of guys we had to be successful."

The Bears shot just 41 percent, hit only six 3-pointers and turned the ball over 22 times while giving up 22 second-chance points.

"I thought we were getting better at (reducing turnovers)," said McLaughlin, "but obviously today was tough. They had 30 points off 22 turnovers and 22 points on second chances. That's 52 points right off the bat. That's going to be tough to win any game."

Junior Louis Jennings (Walpole, Mass.) led BSU with 17 points while grabbing nine rebounds.

Also in double figures were junior Dante Kikuba (Framingham, Mass.) with 15 points plus four rebounds, three assists and three steals and senior TJ Williams (Jupiter, Fla.) with 11 points.

UMass Dartmouth (3-4) had four players in double figures, led by junior John Marcille (Rehoboth, Mass.) with 24 points while junior Josh Lopes (Taunton, Mass.) had 20 points, 10 rebounds and five steals.

Graduate student Isaac Percy (Pittsfield, Mass.) scored 14 points and had nine rebounds while junior Ryan Flauto (Whitinsville, Mass.) added 12 points and eight rebounds.

The Corsairs had a double digit lead (14-4) just 4:20 into the game and moved in front, 29-8, on a Flauto layup with 11:03 left in the half.

"We talked about coming out better," said McLaughlin. "We have got to come aggressive and we didn't."

But the Bears turned things around with a 21-2 run in less than five minutes to get within 31-29 with 5:29 before the break.

Williams had nine points, hitting a pair of 3-pointers and converting a three-point play, to spark the run.

UMass Dartmouth opened the lead back up to 44-36 by halftime, holding BSU to two points in the final 2:40.

"Encouraged (by the rally)," said McLaughlin, "but we needed to be better, me included. We talk about when we cut the lead down, what are we going to do down five. Are we going to take a good shot or a tough shot?

"That's what we've been battling. It's understanding the time and score. A tough shot deflates us. When we're in momentum we have to value the possession."

Kikuba hit a 3-pointer with 16:18 to go to move BSU within 48-45, but that was as close as the Bears would get the rest of the way.

The Corsairs went on a 15-4 run with Marcille getting six of the points for a 64-49 advantage with 11:52 left.

The Bears managed just three field goals in the next four minutes as UMass Dartmouth took control.

The Corsairs now lead the series with BSU, 38-13, dating back to 1973.

The Bears finish the first semester portion of the schedule Tuesday, traveling to Boston to face Emerson College at 5 p.m.

UMass Dartmouth plays on Dec. 20 in Miami Gardens, Fla. against Carroll University at the Cruzin Classic.