Men's Basketball Falls to MCLA, 77-69

By Jim Fenton

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University men's basketball team is on a five-game losing streak and is off to an 0-3 start in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference.

The Bears were defeated by the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, 77-69, on Wednesday after leading by as many as 10 points in the first half.

BSU was up, 45-44, at halftime, but the Bears missed 17 of their first 19 shots in the second half as the Trailblazers went on an 18-4 run and took control of the game.

The loss drops BSU to 5-10 while MCLA is now 3-12 and 1-2 in the MASCAC.

Senior TJ Williams (Jupiter, Fla.) led the Bears with 19 points on 7 of 21 shooting (3-for-10 from behind the arc) while sophomore Sam Sweeney (Burlington, Vt.) added 14 points, hitting three 3-pointers.

Junior Louis Jennings (Walpole, Mass.) had 10 points, nine rebounds and a pair of steals.

Junior Dante Kikuba (Framingham, Mass.) had eight points, eight assists, four rebounds and three steals.

MCLA had four players in double figures, led by junior Jake Bluestein (San Diego, Calif.).

Bluestein came off the bench and scored 25 points, hitting seven 3-pointers in the first half and finishing 8-for-14 from behind the line.

Senior Jo Jo Garcia (Henderson, N.Y.) had 19 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks and junior Craig Williams (Dover, Del.) contributed 18 points and seven rebounds.

Sophomore Hayden Morris-Gray (Port Jefferson Station, N.Y.) had 10 points, nine assists and eight rebounds.

After opening a 10-point lead late in the first half, BSU was outscored, 34-11, over a span of 15:39 as the offense was unable to get going.

BSU made just 36 percent of its shots and was 3-for-3 at the foul line while MCLA was 14-for-33 on 3-pointers and shot 40 percent overall.

The Bears' cold shooting to start the second half turned the game around.

They received a layup from senior captain Alex Gonzalez (Peabody, Mass.) with 18:26 remaining to put the Bears up, 47-46, and a layup by Jennings with 16:13 to go, cutting MCLA's lead to 50-49.

The next time BSU scored was on a Williams' jumper with 9:39 left, making it a 62-51 Bears' deficit.

The Trailblazers had scored 12 straight points in that 18-4 run and built their largest lead at 66-51.

BSU managed to get within seven on a Williams' dunk with 2:46 left, making it 72-65, and had the ball for two shots but couldn't cut into the lead.

Garcia hit two foul shots with 2:01 left and made a layup with 52 seconds to play for a 76-65 advantage.

BSU opened the game with a 12-4 run, Kikuba and Williams making 3-pointers and MCLA turning the ball over five minutes in the first 3:38.

The Trailblazers moved within 14-12 and pulled even at 22 with 11:03 on one of Bluestein's 3-pointer.

The Bears then opened their largest lead at 38-28 with 6:27 to go on a 3-pointer by Kikuba.

But MCLA went on a 14-0 run in 4:01 to grab a 42-38 lead as the Bears missed four shots and had two turnovers.

A layup by junior Aidan Rock (Westport, Mass.) pushed BSU back in front, 45-44, with one second to go in the half.

BSU will be home on Saturday for a noon game against Worcester State University, facing the team it lost to in overtime in the MASCAC title game last season.

MCLA travels to Salem State University for a noon game on Saturday.