Men's Basketball Downed, 71-65, By MASCAC Rival Bridgewater State

Bridgewater, MA --- Bridgeawter State senior Michael Lofton (Mansfield, MA) posted a double-double with a season-high 30 points to go along with 11 rebounds to lead the Bears to a 71-65 victory over Worcester State in MASCAC men's basketball action this afternoon at the Tinsley Center.

The Bears improve to 10-6 on the season and 3-1 in the MASCAC, while the Lancers slip to 3-13 overall and 0-3 in conference play.

Lofton went 14-for-25 from the floor and seven of his team-best 11 boards came off the offensive glass.  He also two blocked shots and a pair of steals.

Senior Kyle Gibson (Franklin, MA) added 16 points, seven rebounds and three assists for the Bears. Gibson was a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line.

Sophomore Paul Brooks (Arlington, MA) paced the visiting Lancers with a team-best 22 points on 11 of 13 shooting.  Brooks also finished with his eighth double-double in 16 games as he pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds with four of the offensive variety. 

Senior Charles Gunter (Boston, MA/New Mission) added a career-high 18 points to go along with four rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal.  

Trailing 19-16 with just over eight minutes remaining in the first half, the Bears closed out the stanza with a to 19-6 run to take a 35-25 lead into the break. Lofton scored ten points during the run while Murphy knocked down a pair of three-pointers.

The Bears maintained a double-digits over the first 12 minutes of the second half and were seemingly in control of the game as they held a 54-43 advantage as the clock ticked under eight minutes.

With their backs against the wall, Worcester State got back into the contest with an 9-2 spurt and trailed 56-52 with 5:31 left in regulation.

After Lofton netted a pair of buckets and senior Barrett Murphy (Marshfield, MA) hit the front end of a two-shot foul try to bring the advantage back up to seven points (61-54), sophomore Ryan DiBernardo (Springfield, MA) responded for the Blue and Gold with a trifecta.

Following a BSU miscue on their next possession, a lay-up by Brooks made it a 61-59 game as 1:51 read on the clock.

Out of a timeout, Lofton threw down an alley-oop dunk and added a breakaway layup off his own steal to extend the BSU lead to 65-59.  Brooks came right back with an uncontested layup to make it a four-point game with 1:04 remaining.

The Bears had a chance to extend the lead, but missed an opportunity at the charity stripe with a bonus try. With time winding down the Lancers tried to slice into the deficit as senior Brendan Rios (Easthampton, MA) had a look from long range, however, his three-point attempt was off the mark.

Gibson went go 6-for-6 from the free throw line in the final 31 seconds to secure the win for the Bears.

Bridgewater shot 45 percent (26-for-58) from the floor including 5-for-12 (42 percent) from behind the arc. The Bears also connected on 14-of 18 (78 percent) from the charity stripe.

Worcester sank 52% (29-56) of their field goal attempts for the game, but hit one of their seven attempts from three-point range.  The Lancers held a decisive 56-32 margin in points in the point and a 33-32 edge in the rebounding department.

Both teams are back in action on Tuesday night. The Bears travel to Fitchburg State to take on the Falcons at 7:30 while the Lancers entertain the Owls of Westfield State at Nichols in an 8 PM affair.

Major Portions of Release Courtesy of Bridgewater State Sports Information