Carney Paces Men's Hoops to 83-73 Win over Worcester State

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Junior guard Ryan Carney (Easton, Mass.) scored 22 points to lead the Bridgewater State University men's basketball team to an 83-73 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) victory over visiting Worcester State University on Tuesday evening at the Tinsley Center.

The Bears improve to 4-13 on the season and 2-3 in the MASCAC, while the Lancers fall to 9-9 overall and 2-3 in conference play.

Carney connected on 8 of 12 field goals including a perfect 4-for-4 from three-point range. He also dished out four assists and pulled down a couple of rebounds.

Junior forward Dimitri St. Louis (Brockton Mass.) added 17 points for the Bears on 8 of 13 shooting to go along with five rebounds, while classmate Rayshon Ward (Fayetteville, N.C.) posted his seventh straight double-double with 13 points and a game-high 16 rebounds (four offensive). Ward also finished with five assists and three blocked shots.

Sophomore forward Nick Crocker (Falmouth, Mass.) rounded out the Bears' double-digit point producers as he notched 13 points as well as six boards (three offensive), three steals and a block. Freshman guard Admar Jaramillo (Brockton, Mass.) filled the stat sheet with nine points, three rebounds, five assists, four steals and a pair of blocks.

Junior forward Shaun McCarthy (Oxford, Mass.) paced Worcester State with a game-high 27 points. Junior guard Tyler Dion (Barre, Mass.) checked in with 15 points for the Lancers, while sophomore guard Chris Cardoso (Jamaica Plain, Mass.) recorded a double-double with 11 points and a team-best ten rebounds to go along with three steals.

In a tightly contested first half which featured three ties and five lead changes, the Bears used a late 9-2 run to take a 37-30 lead into the break. Ward paced Bridgewater State with 11 points over the first 20 minutes while Carney added ten. McCarthy led all players with 14 first-half points.

The Bears shot 47% (15-32) from the floor in the opening stanza and held the Lancers to 39% (13-33) shooting including 2-for-14 (14% from behind the arc. The two teams combined to turn the ball over 20 times in the first half.

In the second half, Bridgewater's lead fluctuated between three and nine points until back-to-back buckets by St. Louis, a thunderous dunk and a three-pointer, gave the Bears' a double-digit advantage, 57-46, with 10:47 remaining. Later in the period a pair of Carney three-pointers and layup extended the BSU advantage to 12 (67-55) with just over six minutes left to play.

After the Lancers cut the deficit to nine (68-59), the Bears connected on six straight free throws to open up a 15-point lead ( 74-59) with 4:12 showing on the scoreboard. Trailing 81-66, Worcester reeled off seven straight points to make it an 81-73 game with a little over two minutes remaining. McCarthy started the run with a three-pointer while Cardoso scored four points including a tradition three-point play. The Lancers, however missed each other their last five shots as Bridgewater hung on for the 83-73 victory.

The Bears shot 47% for the game as they made 15 out of 32 field goals attempts in each half. Bridgewater also went 6-for-15 (40%) from three-point range and knocked down 17 of 27 (63%) free throws.

The Lancers shot 39% (27-69) from the floor including just 6-for-25 (24%) from behind the arc. Worcester finished 13-for-17 (77%) at the charity stripe.

There were 39 turnovers in the game (20 for Bridgewater) with the Lancers holding a 25-13 edge in points off turnovers. The Bears assisted on 19 of their 30 made field goals compared to just nine assists for the visitors.

Both coaching staffs wore sneakers as part of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers Week. Coaching staffs from across the nation wear sneakers with their suits during games to raise awareness and help save lives from cancer by raising funds and encouraging people to educate themselves about cancer prevention, screening, and early detection.

The MASCAC schedule continues for both teams on Thursday evening at 5:30. The Bears travel to Fitchburg State University to take on the Falcons, while the Lancers entertain the Owls of Westfield State University.