Key Leads Men's Basketball to 76-71 Win Over Wheaton

NORTON, Mass. – Sophomore forward Keyth Key (Springfield, Mass.) scored a career-high 24 points and the Bridgewater State University men's basketball team outscored host Wheaton College by 17 points in the second half, en-route to a 76-71 victory this afternoon at Emerson Gymnasium on the campus of Wheaton in Norton, Mass.

The Bears snap an eight-game losing streak and improve to 1-8 on the season, while the Lyons fall to 5-5. The win marked the 399th in the illustrustrious coaching career of BSU skipper Joe Farroba. 

Bridgewater State's big second half was fueled by a 58.1% (18-31) shooting mark, including 6-13 (46.2%) from three-point range. The Bears finished with a 46.8% (29-62) percentage for the game and was 10-26 (38.5) from beyond the arc. Wheaton shot 47.6% (30-63) from the floor, but was limited to 4-16 (25%) from three-point territory. 

Key was 7-for-11 from the floor, including 4-6 from three-point range and added seven rebounds and three steals for Bridgewater State. Freshman center Camden Dunbury (Pocasset, Mass.) scored 12 points, pulled down seven rebounds, blocked a pair of shots and handed out an assist, while graduate guard Jordan Wetterlind (Twig, Minn.) contributed with 13 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals. Freshman guard Quinton Champagne (Wrentham, Mass.) came off the bench to score 11 points, including a trio of three-pointers, in addition to a pair of steals and a rebound in 17 minutes of action. 

Junior guard Alex Carlisle (Saint Johnsbury, Vt.) led all scorers with 32 points on 14 of 27 from the field  to go with two assists, four rebounds and three steals. Carlisle entered today ranked third in all of Division III with 30.0 points per game. Freshman forward Duncan Bubar (Newton, Mass.) added nine points and added seven rebounds, three assists and a steal for the Lyons, while classmate Khaled Thaher (Amman, Jordan) came off the bench to pull down a game-high 12 rebounds to go with a pair of blocks, three points and two assists.

Wheaton junior guard Evan Cook (Dunstable, Mass.) canned a three-pointer to give the Lyons a 59-50 advantage with 8:57 showing on the second half clock, but Bridgewater State put together an 11-1 run, including a pair of three-pointers from Champagne and a Key three-point play, to give the Bears a 61-60 edge with 7:04 to play in the game. Bubar converted a driving lay-up to reclaim the lead for the home team, but Champagne responded with a lay-up to give Bridgewater State the lead for good and ignite a 6-0 run for a 67-62 margin with 4:52 remaining in the game.

Wheaton closed to within 71-70 on a Thaher lay-up with 3:07 showing in the half, but the Bears scored five of the final six points, including a three-pointer from Key with 21 ticks left on the clock, to secure the win.

The Lyons reeled off 12 straight points early in the first half, led by 11 from Carlisle, to take a 25-16 lead with 10:30 to play in the opening stanza. Bridgewater State countered with a pair of trifectas from senior guard Alan Pettway (Worcester, Mass.) to cut the deficit to 25-22 at the 9:17 mark. The Bears stayed within 33-27 with 3:33 left in the period, but Wheaton scored the final six points of the half to take a 39-27 halftime lead.

Carlisle continued the Lyons' momentum in the second half with a driving lay-up to give them a 43-29 lead for their largest cushion of the day at 18:09 of the second half. Wheaton later maintained a 51-42 advantage at the 12-minute mark, before Bridgewater put together its game-changing run.

The Lyons return to action on Wednesday, December 8 when they travel to Westfield, Mass. to take on Westfield State University at 7:00 p.m., while the Bears head to Franklin, Mass. to play Dean College on December 7 at 7:00 p.m.