Worcester, MA --- Bridgewater State sophomore Barrett Murphy (Marshfield, MA) scored a career-high 19 points off the bench to lead the Bears to a 78-65 MASCAC men's basketball victory over Worcester State on this afternoon.
With the win, the Bears improve to 10-7 on the season and remain unbeaten in conference play with a 4-0 mark. The Lancers slip to 3-12 overall and 0-3 in the MASCAC.
Murphy connected on 7 of 9 field goal attempts including 4-for-6 from behind the arc in 26 minutes of action.
BSU junior Michael Lofton (Mansfield, MA) filled the stat sheet with 17 points, eight rebounds, four assists, a block and four steals. Senior Brendan Monteiro (Brockton, MA) added 14 points, while junior Kyle Gibson (Franklin, MA) chipped in with 13 points and five boards.
Senior Dane Jobst (Athol, MA) posted his ninth double-double of the campaign with 14 points and 12 rebounds to pace the Blue and Gold.
Junior Brendan Rios (Easthampton, MA) tallied 18 points, five boards and two steals, while classmate Charles Gunter (Boston, MA/New Mission) came off the bench to score 12 points on 6 of 9 shooting.
The Bears used a 9-0 run on the strength of three consecutive trey's from Monteiro and Murphy to take a 21-9 lead. Later in the period, the Lancers answered with a 13-0 run capped off by a freshman Jeremy Bacon's (Milford, MA) layup to jump ahead, 26-25, with 4:28 remaining.
The teams traded leads until the Bears closed out the half with six straight points on a pair of Murphy jumpers and a Gibson layup to head to the locker-room with a 36-31 advantage.
Rios tied the game up at 41-41 with 15:59 left to play in the second half. The Bears, however, responded with a 15-2 run over the next three minutes to open up a 13-point lead (56-43). Murphy and Gibson each scored five points during the run.
The Lancers answered with a 9-1 spurt over the next five minutes to make it a five-point game (57-52). Later in the stanza, a Gunter layup pulled the Lancers to within four (63-59) with 4:56 left to play.
Bridgewater State dominated play the rest of the way using a 15-2 run to put the game out of reach.
Junior Justin Clark (Yarmouth Port, MA) highlighted the run with six points including a three-pointer. He capped off the run with a pair of free throws to give the Bears their largest lead of the game, 78-61.
The Bears shot 49 percent (28-for-57) from the floor, including 9-for-22 from behind the arc, and forced 18 miscues. BSU held a 26-13 advantage in points off turnovers.
Worcester State connected for nearly half of their shots for the game (48 percent - 30-for-62) but went 0-for-8 from three-point range and 5-for-12 at the free throw line.
The Lancers nearly doubled up their opponents in rebounding with a 42-23 margin, including a 16-4 edge on the offensive glass which led to an 18-5 advantage in second chance points. The hosts also outscored the visitors, 54-30, in the paint.
The MASCAC schedule resumes for both teams on Tuesday evening at 7:30 PM. Worcester State heads out to Westfield State while Bridgewater State entertains Fitchburg State.
Major Portions Of Release Courtesy of Bridgewater State Sports Information
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