Men's Basketball Captures Cave Classic Title

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Senior guard Fawaz Mass (Taunton, Mass.) earned Most Valuable Player honors to lead the Bridgewater State University men's basketball team to a 79-74 victory over visiting Springfield College in the championship game of The Cave Classic on Saturday afternoon at the Tinsley Center.

The host Bears improve to 2-1 on the young season, while the Pride fall to 2-1.

Mass tallied 15 points, including ten during a crucial stretch of the second half, to go along with four rebounds, two blocked shots and a steal. He averaged 17.0 points and 4.5 rebounds during the tournament.

Senior guard Keyon Armstrong (Brockton, Mass.) led all players with a game-high 20 points. Armstrong was 4-for-6 from behind the arc and pulled down five rebounds.

Bridgewater rallied from a 16-point early second half deficit to come away with the win.

Down 49-33 with 18:44 remaining, the Bears chipped away outscoring the Pride 25-11 over the next nine minutes.

Mass scored ten of his 15 points during that nine-minute stretch while the Bears also received a trio of three-pointers from junior guard Rocky DeAndrade (Mansfield, Mass.), Armstrong and junior forward Joseph Carty (Natick, Mass.). Carty's trifecta pulled the Bears to within two (60-58) with 9:49 left to play.

Later in the period, senior forward Greg Romanko (Mansfield, Mass.) drained a three-pointer to tie the score at 65-65 with 5:47 remaining. Freshman guard Trey Witter (Unionville, Conn.) reclaimed the lead for the Pride with a trifecta. Romanko responded with an off-balance driving layup and got fouled but missed the free throw to make it a one-point game, 68-67.

After a stop, Carty knocked down two free throws to put the Bears on top, 69-68, with 3:45 left to play.

Freshman guard Jake Ross (Northampton, Mass.) answered with a pair of free throws at the other end of the floor to put Springfield back on top, 70-69.

DeAndrade knocked down a three-pointer to give the Bears a 72-70 advantage with 3:25 remaining. After a stop, DeAndrade made two free throws to extend the lead to 74-70. The Bears got another stop, but turned the  ball over as the clock ticked under two minutes.

Out of a timeout, Ross made a layup, got fouled and hit the free throw to make it a one-point game, 74-73, with 1:36 on the clock.

Mass made 1 of 2 free throws at the other end of the floor to give the Bears a 75-73 lead. Following a stop and a timeout, Carty grabbed a big offensive board, was fouled and made two free throws to make it 77-73 with just 24 seconds showing on the scoreboard.

After Ross made 1 of 2 free throws for the Pride, Armstrong buried two shots at the charity stripe to put the finishing touches on the 79-74 victory.

DeAndrade also earned All-Tournament honors for the Bears as he averaged 17 points during the tournament. He scored 14 in the win over Springfield to go along with three assists, two rebounds and a pair of steals.

Carty chipped in with 13 points, eight boards, three assists and a steal.

Ross paced the Pride with 16 points, a game-high 14 rebounds and five assists as he was also named to the All-Tournament Team. Junior forward Brandon Eckles (East Greenwich, R.I.) scored a team best 18 points, while junior guard Andy McNulty (West Springfield, Mass.) and Witter added 13 and 11 points, respectively.

The Bears shot 50% (25-50) from the floor, 47% (8-17) from behind the arc and 70% (21-30) at the free throw line.

Springfield struggled mightily from the floor in the second half connecting on just 7 of 30 (23%) field goal attempts. The Pride shot 34% (21-62) for the game including 9-for-22 (41%) from three-point range. Springfield did well from the line making 23 of 27 attempts (85%).

Up next, the Bears travel to Rhode Island College on Tuesday night for a 7:30 game with the Anchormen.