Worcester State 69, Bridgewater State 59
Worcester, MA --- Bridgewater State junior forward Nicholas Motta (Fairhaven, MA) poured in 29 points with nine rebounds to help lead the Bears to a 69-59 victory this evening to remain unbeaten in MASCAC play. With the win BSC improves to 10-5 and 4-0 in the league while the Lancers slip to 9-8 and 3-2 in the MASCAC.
Motta did his damage on an 8-for-12 performance from the field and he went 12-for-15 from the free throw line. Bridgewater State was also paced by classmate Corey Connor (Providence, RI) who tallied 12 with four made three-pointers while junior Samuel Johnson (N. Chelmsford, MA) chipped in with 10 points in 10 minutes off the bench.
The Lancers were paced by freshman Tim Henault (Lunenburg, MA) who totaled a career-best 16 points. Junior Dave Douillette (Bridgewater, MA) notched 13 points while sophomore Jamaal Atkins (Webster, MA) corralled 10 rebounds. First-year Monte Goodwin (Boston, MA/Belmont) also finished 7 points, 5 caroms and a pair of blocks for WSC.
Bridgewater State jumped out to a 10-1 lead in the first four minutes of the contest as Worcester State would miss their first 11 attempts from the field. The Lancers, however, then regained their composure and knotted the score at 12:42 and took the lead on a free-throw by Douillette (11-10).
Play then went back and forth as there would be five lead changes and one tie before the Bears emerged with the 19-18 advantage at 7:04 on a Motta jump shot.
With BSC up 25-20 at 5:04, the Bridgewater State closed out the half with a 14-6 spurt - sparked by a slam dunk by Johnson - to lead at the intermission 39-26.
The Bears attempted to maintain their lead to start the second stanza and they found success as they built up the advantage to 16 points, seven minutes into the period (49-33). But Worcester State soon whittled down the lead to close the gap with a 14-3 run to trail by five with 7:13 left (52-47).
To stop the momentum, Connor and senior Matt McLaughlin (Rochester, MA) brought the score back up to 57-47 with a quick 5-0 run for the visitors. The Lancers answered with a Henault three-point play at 4:25 that allowed WSC to trail by just seven points, but that was as close as they would get. Motta would help seal the deal for the Bears with seven of their nine points in the final minutes of play.
Worcester State would control the backboards as they posted a 43-29 advantage overall and a 21-6 edge off the offensive glass. Bridgewater State would force 27 Lancer miscues - most of which came off 21 steals - for 28 points. WSC held a 20-2 lead in second chance points and their bench outscored their counterparts, 43-15.
Both teams will play Salem State in the next five days. Bridgewater State faces them on Saturday at the Tinsley Center at 3 o'clock before the Lancers travel to face the Vikings in an 8 PM tip-off on Tuesday.