Men's Basketball Bows to Worcester State, 98-92

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University men's basketball team could not overcome a 22-point second half deficit as the host Bears dropped a 98-92 decision to Worcester State University in MASCAC men's basketball action on Thursday night at the Tinsley Center.

Worcester improves to 9-7 on the season with the win and 3-2 in the MASCAC as the Lancers snapped an 11-game losing streak versus the Bears dating back to 2008.  Bridgewater falls to 6-9 overall and 1-3 in conference play as the Bears suffered their fourth straight setback.

Robert Hunter (St. Louis, Missouri) led five Worcester State starters in double figure scoring as he poured in 25 points on 12-for-15 shooting.  Hunter finished with a double-double as he grabbed ten rebounds to go along with three blocked shots and a pair of steals.  Monte Goodwin (Boston, Mass.) and Dane Jobst (Athol, Mass.) also posted double-doubles with 18 points and 12 boards and 11 points and 13 rebounds, respectively.  Alex Lopez (Springfield, Mass.) added 18 points, while Kyle Ferreira (Westport, Mass.) chipped in with 15 points and a team-best six assists.

Michael Lofton (Mansfield, Mass.) paced the Bears with double-double totals of 16 points and 15 rebounds to go along with four steals.  Brendan Monteiro (Brockton, Mass.) and Barrett Murphy (Marshfield, Mass.) added 15 and 11 points off the bench, respectively, while Brendan McDonald (Dorchester, Mass.) scored 12 points and Anthony Fortes (Providence, R.I.) notched ten points and six assists.

Worcester held a 50-35 advantage at the break and that lead ballooned to 22 points (61-39) in the early stages of the second half.  The Bears responded with a 10-0 run highlighted by four points each from Lofton and Fortes to pull to within 12 (61-49) with 15:34 remaining.  A quick 6-2 spurt pushed the Lancer lead up to 16 points, but back-to-back three-pointers from Murphy made it a ten-point game (81-71) at the 13:17 mark.

Worcester would build their lead back up to 15 (72-67) on a layup by Hunter and a traditional three-point play by Austin Keeler (Holyoke, Mass.).  Bridgewater would answer with an 8-1 run capped off by a Monteiro driving layup to pull to within eight points at 73-65 with 10:45 left on the clock.  From that point, the Lancers' lead would fluctuate between 11 and seven points until the final minute of play.

With the Bears trailing 95-86, Murphy drained this third trifecta of the evening to make it a six-point game.  After Worcester missed two free throws, Shawn Yard (Brockton, Mass.) was fouled while hitting a layup and calmly sank the ensuing free throw to pull the Bears to within three at 95-92 with 32 second left to play.  Bridgewater, however, would not score again.  Lopez knocked down a pair of free throws on the Lancers' ensuing possession and Hunter capped off the scoring by converting 1 of 2 at the charity stripe with 12 seconds remaining.

Worcester shot 52% (36-69) from the floor for the game including a sizzling 63% (17-27) in the second half.  The Lancers held a 54-36 rebounding advantage, while offensive rebounds were even at 19 apiece.

The Bears struggled with their shooting throughout the contest converting just 39% (33-85) of their field goal attempts.  Bridgewater attempted 16 more shots thanks in part to forcing 23 turnovers. The Bears, however, did not fully capitalize on the Lancers' generosity, scoring just 23 points off those miscues.

In upcoming action, The Bears travel to Salem State on Saturday for a MASCAC tilt with the Vikings at one.  The Lancers entertain those same Vikings next Tuesday night at eight.