Men's Basketball Notches 83-65 MASCAC Win Over Fitchburg State

FITCHBURG, Mass. – The visiting Bridgewater State University men's basketball team cruised to an 83-65 Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) victory over Fitchburg State University on Saturday afternoon at Parkinson Gymnasium.

The Bears improve to 13-5 on the season and 3-2 in the MASCAC with their second consecutive win. The Falcons fall to 7-9 overall and 2-3 in conference play with their third straight setback. Bridgewater is 84-33 versus Fitchburg since 1960.

Graduate center Emerson Halbleib (Carmel, Ind.) paced Bridgewater State with 16 points, eight rebounds and a career-high six blocked shots. Halbleib was a perfect 7-for-7 from the floor and 2-for-2 at the free throw line.

Junior guard Justin Parsons (Portsmouth, R.I.) added 16 points, three rebounds and two assists for the Bears, while freshman guard Dante Kikuba (Framingham, Mass.) chipped in with 11 points, seven rebounds, and game-high totals of eight assists and three steals. Junior forward Peyton Priest (Papillion, Neb. ) contributed ten points in 19 minutes off the bench.

Junior forward Quincy Taylor (Boston, Mass.) posted a double-double with 16 points and a game-best 16 rebounds to lead the way for Fitchburg State. Twelve of Taylor's 16 boards came off the offensive glass. The Falcons also received 16 points, three rebounds and a pair of steals from sophomore guard Frederick Slayor (Worcester, Mass.) as well as 12 rebounds and five blocks from senior forward Dayne Allen (Revere, Mass.).

The Bears used a 16-0 run to take control of the game in the first half. Parsons tallied 11 points and Kikuba added five during the game-changing spurt which turned a 5-4 BSU lead into a 21-4 advantage. The Bears would hold the Falcons to 20.5% (9-44) shooting in the opening stanza as they would take a comfortable 46-22 lead into the break.

Parsons scored all 16 of his points in the first half. Bridgewater shot 42.9% (18-42) over the first 20 minutes including 6-for-12 (50%) from behind the arc.

Fitchburg would not threaten in a much more closely contested second half. The Bears got up by as many as 27 points (52-25) in the stanza while the final score of 83-65 was as close as the Falcons would get.

Bridgewater shot 41.7% (35-84) for the game and 31.8% (7-22) from three-point range. Fitchburg connected on 28.9% (24-83) of its field goal attempts and finished 7-for-25 (28%) from behind the arc. Both teams struggled at the free throw line as the Bears went 6-for-12 (50%) at the stripe and the Falcons 10-for-17 (58.8%).

The Bears held a 50-32 advantage in points in the paint.

In upcoming action, the Bears entertain Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) foe MCLA on Wednesday evening at 5:30. The Falcons travel to Mitchell College on Monday night to take on the at Mariners at six o'clock.