Lofton, Gibson Lead Men's Basketball to 86-72 MASCAC Win over Framingham

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Junior forwards Michael Lofton (Mansfield, Mass.) and Kyle Gibson (Franklin, Mass.) each recorded double-doubles to lead the Bridgewater State University men's basketball team to an 86-72 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) victory over visiting Framingham State University on Saturday afternoon at the Tinsley Center.

The host Bears improve to 12-10 on the season and 6-3 in the MASCAC with the win.  The Rams fall to 7-14 overall and 2-7 in conference play.  Bridgewater is only a half game out of first place in the MASCAC standings with Salem State leading the way with a 6-2 conference mark.  Salem dropped a 53-50 decision to Worcester State this afternoon in Worcester.

Lofton finished with a career-high 27 points and a season-high 14 rebounds.  He connected on 10 of 17 field goal attempts and added five assists, a block and three steals.  Five of Lofton's 14 caroms came off the offensive glass.

Gibson scored 19 points on 9 of 16 shooting and pulled down 11 rebounds including four offensive boards.  He added three assists, two blocks and two steals.

Leading 37-31 at the break, Bridgewater used a 12-4 run over the first five minutes of the second half to open up a double-digit advantage (49-35).  Gibson scored four points during the run while senior guard Brian Grossman (Duxbury, Mass.) and junior guard Justin Clark (Yarmouth Port, Mass.) each connected from behind the arc.  The Bears would maintain a double-digit lead the rest of the way and got up by as many as 18 points.

Grossman and Clark chipped in with 11 and ten points, respectively, for the Bears who shot 57% (17-30) from the floor in the second half and 47% (32-68) for the game.  Clark also filled the stat sheet with five rebounds and five assists.

Junior forward George Jordan (Worcester, Mass.) paced Framingham with 18 points and six rebounds.  Sophomore guard Tim McCarthy (Wilmington, Mass.) added 13 points, five boards and five assists for the Rams who finished with shooting percentages of 42% (30-71) from the floor, 18% (3-17) from three-point range and 69% (9-13) at the free throw line.

Bridgewater held a 45-39 rebounding advantage with a 15-13 edge on the offensive glass.  The Bears finished with 21 second chance points compared to ten for the Rams.

The MASCAC schedule resumes for both teams on Tuesday evening.  Bridgewater entertains Worcester State at 5:30 (Senior Night), while Framingham host MCLA at eight.