Men's Basketball Opens MASCAC Play with 85-78 Win at Fitchburg

FITCHBURG, Mass. -- The Fitchburg State men's basketball team dropped its MASCAC season-opener this afternoon, falling to Bridgewater State University, 85-78, at the Recreation Center.

Senior Samuel Johnson (North Chelmsford, Mass.) led the Bridgewater State attack, totaling a double-double effort with a game-high 20 points and 11 boards. Johnson was joined by senior Cory Ryser (Tewksbury, Mass.) in double-figures with 16 points on 7-of-12 shooting

Senior Anthony Fortes (Providence, R.I.) also posted a double-double for the Bears as he notched 15 points and 11 rebounds to go along with six assists.  Junior Shawn Yard (Brockton, Mass.) added 12 points, five assists and four steals.

Juniors Tom Henneberry (Lexington, Mass.) and Zach Valliere (Douglas, Mass.) paced the Fitchburg State offense with 15 points apiece, while junior Mark Vickers (Boston, Mass.) and sophomore Brandon Selby (Boston, Mass.) both notched double-digits with 12 points and 11 points apiece.

In the first half, Bridgewater State grabbed a five point lead at the break (36-31) behind a trio of eight point efforts from Ryser, Fortes and Max Dolgin (Randolph, Mass.). The Bears quickly raced out to a commanding 11 point lead but Fitchburg State closed the gap, narrowing the deficit to four with 7:56 remaining.

The Falcons continued to chip away at the margin, bringing the contest to a score of 32-21 following a Vickers lay-up down low, but Bridgewater State ran off four straight points to close the half with the two bucket advantage.

In the second period, Bridgewater State again came out flying, receiving back-to-back lay-ups from Johnson for a nine point advantage just 1:20 in, but the Falcons came roaring back, closing their gap to only three just one minute later.

Despite tying the score at the 15:08 mark (44-44) following a Henneberry three, the Falcons were never able to break the Bears barrier as Bridgewater State held the lead for the remainder of the contest. Bridgewater State shot 53.4% from the floor to earn the victory, while Fitchburg State was limited to 11.1% from beyond the arc.

Fitchburg State (8-3, 0-1 MASCAC) is back in action on Wednesday as it hosts Fisher College at 7:30 p.m. Bridgewater State (4-6, 1-0 MASCAC) will host Framingham State on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.