Men's Basketball Edges Westfield State, 77-75

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Junior guard Fawaz Mass (Taunton, Mass.) scored 23 points to lead the Bridgewater State University men's basketball team to a 77-75 comeback victory over Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) rival Westfield State University on Wednesday night at the Tinsley Center.

The Bears improve to 11-12 on the season and 7-4 in the MASCAC as they are now tied for third place in the conference standings. The Owls fall to 10-14 overall and 4-7 in MASCAC play.

Mass connected on 9 of 17 field goals and was within rebound of a double-double as he pulled down nine boards.

Sophomore guard Rocky DeAndrade (Mansfield, Mass.) added 18 points, two assists and four steals for the Bears, while sophomore forward Joseph Carty (Natick, Mass.) contributed 11 points and eight rebounds and junior forward Michael Soares (Milford, Mass.) notched 12 points on 5 of 6 shooting in 26 minutes off the bench.

Junior center Shane Pasquantonio (Ashland, Mass.) posted a double-double with game-high 24 points and 14 rebounds to pace the visiting Owls. Pasquantonio was 10-for-14 from the floor and a perfect 4-for-4 at the free throw line.

All five Westfield starters finished in double-figure scoring and accounted for 73 of the team's 75 points. Junior guard Jose Allen (Amherst, Mass.) tallied 14 points and senior forward Tchuijo Nkamebo (Amherst, Mass.) checked in with 13, while junior guard Jesus Sanchez (Springfield, Mass.) and senior forward Brian Foley (Worcester, Mass.) finished with 12 and ten points, respectively.

The Bears jumped out to a 7-0 lead as they held the Owls scoreless for over three minutes to start the game. Westfield answered with a 7-0 run of their own over the next two minutes to knot the game at 7-7. The rest of the half featured five ties and lead changes.

A three-pointer by Sanchez with 6:49 remaining accounted for the final lead change of the first half and put the Owls back on top, 30-29. Leading 40-36 later in the stanza, Westfield closed out the half with a 6-0 run to take a 46-36 advantage into the break.

Both teams shot the ball well over the first 20 minutes. The Owls connected on 58% (19-33) of their field goal attempts, while the Bears shot 50% (16-32) from the floor. Mass lead all scorers with 12 first-half points, while Allen paced the Owls with 11 points and Nkamebo added ten.

An Allen three-pointer to open the second half extended the Westfield advantage to 49-36. Bridgewater, however, responded with an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to five (49-44). Westfield would maintain a single-digit lead heading into the waning minutes of the contest.

A Greg Romanko (Mansfield, Mass.) three-pointer with just over three minutes remaining pulled the Bears to within two at 73-71. After a stop, DeAndrade knocked down a pair of free throws to knot the score at 73-73.

A tie-up with the possession arrow in the Bears' advantage gave the hosts the ball back with just over two minutes showing on the scoreboard. Romanko then corralled a big offensive rebound and DeAndrade drove hard to the hoop for a layup to give the Bears their first lead since the 7:17 mark of the first half.

Westfield turned the ball over on each of their next two possessions and Mass knocked down a pair of free throws with just 16 seconds remaining to extend the BSU advantage to 77-73. A Sanchez layup at the buzzer accounted for the final score of 77-75.

The Bears shot 48% (30-62) while the Owls connected on 53% (32-60) of their field goal attempts in a very evenly played game.

Both teams wrap up regular season play on the road on Saturday afternoon at three. The Bears take on MCLA, while the Owls battle Worcester State University.

Notes: Prior to the game, the Bears honored team manager Kyle "Beans" Palladino. Palladino, the only senior on the team, has served as the Bears' team manager and director of basketball operations since 2012.