Johnson's 27 Points, Yard's Heroics Lifts Bears to 80-76 Win over Fitchburg

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- Senior center Samuel Johnson (North Chelmsford, Mass.) notched a double-double with 27 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Bridgewater State University men's basketball team to an 80-76 MASCAC win over Fitchburg State University on Saturday afternoon at the Tinsley Center.

Bridgewater improves to 10-8 on the season and 5-2 in the MASCAC while Fitchburg slips to 9-9 overall and 1-6 in conference play.

Johnson went 9 for 17 from the floor and 9 of 11 from the free throw line, and six of his 14 boards came off the offensive glass.  Junior guard Shawn Yard (Brockton, Mass.) added 15 points, four assists and four steals for the Bears, while senior forward Anthony Fortes (Providence, R.I.) notched ten points and nine boards.  Senior guard Corey Ryser (Tewksbury, Mass.) finished with 12 points, and senior center Max Dolgin (Randolph, Mass.) came off the bench to grab eight rebounds and block seven shots.

Fitchburg was led by senior guard Donald Hunt (Winchendon, Mass.) who scored 21 points on 8 of 14 shooting.  Junior center Zach Valliere (Douglas, Mass.) posted a double-double with 17 points and 15 boards to go along with four blocks.  Junior forward Brandon Selby (Baltimore, Md.) notched 15 points and six rebounds off the bench and senior forward Tom Henneberry (Lexington, Mass.) added ten points.

Fitchburg erased a 47-39 halftime deficit with a 15-6 run over the first 6 1/2 minutes of the final stanza as the Falcons took a 54-53 lead, their first since an early 9-8 advantage.  The game was close the rest of the way.

Trailing 74-69 with under three minutes remaining, the Bears notched four straight points on a pair of free throws by Fortes and a Johnson layup to pull to within one.  A jumper by Selby upped the Falcons' lead to three with 1:23 left on the clock.   Ryser missed a jumper at the other end of the floor but Dolgin grabbed the offensive board and found an open Yard who knocked down a three to knot the score at 76-76.

Following a Fitchburg miss, Yard drove in for a running layup to give BSU the 78-76 advantage with just 32 seconds remaining. Dolgin recorded his seventh block at the other end of the floor and Johnson knocked down a pair of free throws to secure the win for the Bears. 

Bridgewater shot 41% (28-69) for the game while Fitchburg connected on 30 of 78 (39%) field goal attempts.  The Bears had a decided advantage at the free throw line making 27 trips to the charity stripe as opposed to just 11 for the Falcons.  Fitchburg knocked down 8 of 16 three-pointers.

In upcoming action, Bridgewater travels to MASCAC rival Framingham State on Tuesday night to take on the Rams at 8:00 PM.  Fitchburg hosts non-conference foe Newbury College on Tuesday at 7:00 PM.