Connor Leads Men's Basketball Past UMass Boston, 84-68

BOSTON, Mass. -- Senior guard Corey Connor (Providence, R.I.) buried seven three-pointers on his way to 25 first half points as the Bridgewater State University men's basketball team shot past the University of Massachusetts Boston, 84-68, this evening at the Clark Athletic Center on the campus of UMass Boston.

With the decision, the Bears improve to 8-5 overall, while the Beacons drop to 6-8.

Bridgewater State came out of the gates red hot on the way to a 55.3 percent rate from the field. After a 2-2 start, sophomore guard Shawn Yard (Brockton, Mass.) started a 23-0 run with a layup at 19:24 and it was capped by a senior center Samuel Johnson (North Chelmsford, Mass.) bucket at 13:37.

The Bears built their lead up to 33 with 4:29 to play in the half on a three-pointer by Connor. UMass Boston chipped into the deficit over the final few minutes and went to halftime trailing 53-29. Along with shooting 9-for-18 from behind the arc, pressure was a key factor in the Bears solid first 20 minutes as they scored 22 points off of 14 Beacons turnovers.

With a commanding lead going into the second half, Bridgewater State allowed UMass Boston to creep back into the game. Just three minutes into the second frame, freshman guard M.J. Bentley (Orlando, Fla.) buried a bucket to cut the Bears' advantage to 18 at 55-37. However, the Beacons were unable to get any closer until there was just 2:11 left in the contest when a three-pointer by senior guard Mo Johnson (Portland, Ore.) made it 79-64.

In total, four players netted double digits for Bridgewater State including senior forward Nicholas Motta (Fairhaven, Mass.), who scored 16 points and added five rebounds, four assists and a pair of steals. Senior guard Judah Jackson (Everett, Mass.) tallied 11 points to go along with seven assists, four rebounds and a pair of steals, while Johnson notched 10 points on 5 of 7 shooting as well as six boards and two steals.

Senior forward Pat Joseph (Queens, N.Y.) earned a double-double by leading all Beacons with 15 points and 11 rebounds, while freshman forward Dontreal Thomas (White Castle, La.) had a strong effort with 11 points and eight boards. Sophomore guard Michael Mitchell Jr. (Boston, Mass.) and Bentley also finished in double figures. Mitchell Jr. totaled 12 points along with five assists and three steals, while Bentley added 11 points and four steals.

Both teams return to action Saturday, January 15 as the Beacons travel to Danbury, Connecticut to face Western Connecticut State University at 3:00 p.m., while the Bears host MASCAC foe Fitchburg State University at 4:00 p.m.

Notes: With his 16 points, Motta increased his career scoring total to 1,149 points as he moved past Sean Carey (1,146 points) into 20th place on the Bears' all-time scoring list.  With his 11 points, Jackson upped his career point total to 1,312 as he moved past Peter Santos (1,302 points) into tenth place on the scoring list.