Halbleib Leads Men's Basketball to 79-75 MASCAC Win Over MCLA

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – Graduate center Emerson Halbleib (Carmel, Ind.) posted a double-double with 23 points and a career-high 26 rebounds to lead the visiting Bridgewater State University men's basketball team to a 79-75 victory over MCLA in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) matchup on Saturday afternoon at the Amsley Campus Center Gymnasium. The game marked the regular season finale for both teams.

The Bears improve to 18-7 on the season and 8-4 in the MASCAC with the win. Bridgewater is the #2 seed in next week's MASCAC Tournament and will have a first round bye. The Bears will host a semifinal round game next Thursday evening at 5:30.

The Trailblazers fall to 7-16 overall and 3-9 in conference play. The Trailblazers are the #6 seed in the MASCAC Tournament and will travel to Westfield State University on Tuesday evening for a first-round matchup with the third-seeded Owls.

Halbleib connected on 10 of 15 field goals and nine of his 26 boards came off the offensive glass. He also added three steals and a pair of blocked shots. Halbleib came within one rebound of the Bears' single-game record of 27 set by Keith Richards in 1970 (Feb. 2).

Freshman guard Dante Kikuba (Framingham, Mass.) checked in with 14 points and five assist for the Bears, while sophomore guard Alex Gonzalez (Peabody, Mass.) contributed 11 points and a game-best six assists. BSU sophomore guard Quinton Champagne (Wrentham, Mass.) came off the bench to score 13 points in 21 minutes of action. Champagne went 5-for-7 and a perfect 3-for-3 from behind the arc.

Bridgewater overcame a 39-point effort from MCLA graduate guard Noah Yearsley (Averill Park, N.Y.). Yearsley converted 15 of 29 field goals including 8-for-18 from three-point range. He also added three rebounds, three assists and game-high totals of four steals and four blocks.

Sophomore guard Jo Jo Garcia (Henderson, Nev.) recorded a double-double with ten points and ten rebounds for the Trailblazers.

The Bears trailed 45-38 at the break and faced a 50-42 deficit with just under 16 minutes remaining in the second half. Bridgewater used a 15-5 run over the next five minutes, highlighted by eight points from Halbleib, to jump ahead 57-55. Clinging to a one-point lead (60-59) with eight minutes left to play, the Bears went on a 13-3 run to take a 73-62 advantage with 3:37 showing on the scoreboard. Champagne scored eight points during the spurt, including a pair of three-pointers, while Halbleib tallied four.

Yearsley then went to work, knocking down a trio of three-pointers and adding a dunk to pull the Trailblazers to within two (77-75) with just 54 seconds showing on the score board. The Bears turned the ball over three times during the stretch. On the ensuing possession, Bridgewater came up with a clutch offensive rebound, but missed the front end of a one-on-one giving MCLA a chance to either tie or win the game with 15 seconds left to play. Yearsley's trifecta with time winding down, however, was off the mark. Halbleib then sank a pair of free throws with one second remaining to secure the 79-75 victory.

The Bears shot 40.8% (31-76) from the floor, 39.3% (11-28) from three-point range and 66.7% (6-9) at the free throw line. The Trailblazers connected on 41.3% (31-75) of their field goal attempts and went 10-for-38 (26.3%) from behind the arc and 3-for-8 (37.5%) at the charity stripe.

Bridgewater held the advantage in points in the paint (36-28) and second chance points (16-4), while MCLA finished with a 20-15 edge in points off turnovers. The BSU bench outscored the MCLA reserves by a decided margin of 23-8.

Notes: Bridgewater is 34-7 versus MCLA over the last 20 seasons.