By Jim Fenton
BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- Here's a look at the week ahead (Nov. 17-23) for the Bridgewater State University athletics teams:
TUESDAY
MEN'S BASKETBALL, at Wheaton College, 8:00 PM: The Bears (0-2) make the short trip to Norton, Mass., to face the Lyons (3-1) at the Emerson Gymnasium.
BSU has lost two straight games to Wheaton after winning three in a row in the series. The Lyons won at Bridgewater, 86-78, last season.
Wheaton opened with a win over Wentworth an a loss to Lasell before defeating Oneonta and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to take the Michael A. Freilich Classic in Oneonta, N.Y., over the weekend.
WEDNESDAY
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL, at home, Amherst College, 6:00 PM: The Bears (1-0) entertain the Mammoths at the Tinsley Center.
Amherst is ranked No. 16 in the national Division III preseason poll after going 20-8 and reaching the second round of the NCAA tournament last winter.
The Mammoths began the season Sunday with a 76-55 win over Arcadia University.
The teams have not met since Dec. 9, 2017 when BSU lost, 74-30.
The Bears opened the season last Wednesday with a 73-56 home win over UMass Dartmouth.
THURSDAY
VOLLEYBALL, at Tufts University, 7:00 PM: The Bears make their second straight appearance in the NCAA Division III tourney, playing in Medford, Mass..
The last time they went to the national tourney in back-to-back years was 2007-08, the end of a 10-year run in the NCAAs. The 2008 team lost to Tufts in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, 3-0, in Medford.
BSU (17-4) won its second straight Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference title on Saturday over Framingham State.
Tufts (22-5) is ranked No. 20 in the nation and won the New England Small College Athletic Conference tournament championship on Saturday.
The BSU-Tufts game will be one of four to be played on Thursday.
FRIDAY
MEN'S BASKETBALL, at home, Regis, 5:30 PM: The Bears open the Cave Classic with a game against the Pride at the Tinsley Center.
Regis (2-1) has defeated Anna Maria and Lesley while losing to Salve Regina this season.
In last year's Cave Classic by defeating Ithaca and losing to Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
The other game on Friday pits Wentworth against Fisher at 7:30 PM.
SATURDAY
WRESTLING, at the Doug Parker Invitational, 10 AM: The Bears travel to Springfield College for their fourth and final competition in November.
BSU was 12th in the tournament last season with Christian Curley (Bridgewater, Mass.) going 4-1 for the Bears.
WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY, NCAA Division III Championships, Noon: Senior Naomi Cass (Westport, Mass.) represents BSU at the national race for a third year in a row, the only Bears' runner to accomplish that.
Cass finished fourth at the East Region Championships over the weekend and will be in Spartansburg, S.C., for the nationals.
She previously competed in Newville, Pa., and Terre Haute, Ind.
MEN'S BASKETBALL, at home, the Cave Classic: The consolation and championship games of BSU's four-team tourney will take place at the Tinsley Center at noon and 2 p.m.