Men's Basketball Downs Framingham State, 75-56

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Senior guard Ryan Carney (Easton, Mass.) scored a game-high 24 points and senior forwards Dimitri St. Louis (Brockton, Mass.) and Rayshon Ward (Fayetteville, N.C.) each recorded double-doubles to lead the Bridgewater State University men's basketball team to a 75-56 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) victory over visiting Framingham State University on Saturday afternoon at the Tinsley center.

The Bears improve to 6-11 on the season and 3-2 in the MASCAC with their second straight win, while the Rams fall to 1-17 overall and 0-5 in conference play. Bridgewater now holds a 74-38 advantage in the all-time series which dates back to 1971.

Carney, who scored 19 of his 24 points in the second half, connected on 10 of 18 field goal attempts including 4-for-8 from behind the arc. He also added eight rebounds and five assists.

St. Louis tallied 17 points and a game-best 14 boards (five offensive) to go along with three blocks and a game-high four steals. The double-double marked his ninth straight and team-leading 12th of the season.

Ward finished with 15 points, ten rebounds (four offensive), three assists, three steals and a game-best six blocks as he recorded his eighth double-double of the 2019-2020 campaign.

Senior forward Tyri Hampton (Fitchburg, Mass.) led Framingham State with 22 points on 10 of 16 shooting to go along with 11 rebounds as he posted his fourth double-double of the season. Freshman guard John Kalton (Somerville, Mass.) added 12 points for the Rams.

A tightly-contested first half featured three ties and six lead changes with Bridgewater State holding a 34-32 lead at the break. The Bears shot 43% (15-35) from the floor in the opening stanza, while the Rams connected on 44% (14-32) of their field goal attempts. Hampton led all players with 14 first-half points, while Ward paced the Bridgewater State with 12.

A 10-0 run to open the second half extended the BSU lead to 12 (44-32) with 16:33 remaining. Carney tallied eight of the ten points during the spurt including a pair of three-pointers. The Rams closed the gap to six, 48-42, following a driving layup by sophomore guard Jared Gordon-Anderson (Framingham, Mass.) with 12:48 showing on the scoreboard. Bridgewater, however, outscored the Rams 11-4 over the next four minutes with Carney and St. Louis combining for ten points during the stretch as the Bears opened up a 59-46 lead. Bridgewater maintained the double-digit advantage the rest of the way and got up by as many as 23 points (75-52).

The Bears shot 46% (31-68) for the game and held the Rams to just 37% (26-71) shooting.

Bridgewater finished with a decided advantage in points off turnovers (16-4), points in the paint (44-26) and second chance points (17-6).

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 Wednesday night. The Bears travel to Worcester State University for a 7:30 game with the Lancers, while the Rams entertain the Falcons of Fitchburg State University at eight.