Jackson Leads Men's Basketball to 74-71 Overtime Win over Westfield

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Senior forward Judah Jackson (Everett, Mass.) tallied 24 points, including the game-tying three-pointer with 4.7 seconds left in regulation, to lead the Bridgewater State men's basketball team to a 74-71 overtime victory over Westfield State in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action on Saturday afternoon in Bridgewater.

The game marked the MASCAC opener for both teams as Bridgewater improved to 7-4 on the season and 1-0 in the MASCAC while Westfield dropped to 4-10 overall and 0-1 in conference play.

Jackson  also posted a double-double as he pulled down 11 rebounds to go along with four assists and a pair of blocks.  Senior center Samuel Johnson (North Chelmsford, Mass.) finished with a double-double as well as he notched 15 points and 13 boards as well as six steals and two blocks.  Senior forward Nicholas Motta (Fairhaven, Mass.) added 11 points, four rebounds and a pair of steals.

Trailing by eight points with 2:47 left in regulation, Bridgewater mounted an impressive comeback.  A Johnson layup and a pair of free throws by Jackson pulled the Bears to within four at 59-55 as the clock ticked under two minutes. After both teams missed shots on the ensuing possessions, freshman guard Andrew Morgan (Somerset, N.J.) scored his only point of the game as he made one of two at the line to give Westfield a 60-55 lead. Johnson put in a layup at the other end of the floor to make it a three-point game (60-57) with 1:12 remaining.

Turnovers by both teams were followed by a Westfield miss on the front end of a one-on-one.  Bridgewater capitalized on the missed free throw as sophomore guard Anthony Fortes (East Providence, R.I.) pulled the Bears to within a point with a driving layup with 36 ticks left on the clock.  Bridgewater then forced a turnover but Fortes could not convert on the other end.  Sophomore guard Lee Vazquez (Attleboro, Mass.) knocked down a pair of free throws for the Owls with 11 seconds to go setting up Jackson's heroics.  Jackson took the inbounds pass and drove to the top of the three-point arc and buried his first three-pointer of the year to knot the game at 62-62.

Westfield had two opportunities to win the game after Jackson's game-tying three.  Off a long inbounds pass, senior forward Chris Jurkowski (Belchertown, Mass.) missed a base line jumper and senior forward Jesse Benoit's (Granby, Mass.) put back at the buzzer was off the mark sending the game into overtime.

Trailing by two with under two minutes to play in the extra session, Fortes tied the score at 68-68 with a driving layup.  After a Westfield miss, Jackson knocked down a pair of free throws.  The Bears then took advantage of a Westfield turnover as sophomore guard Shawn Yard (Brockton, Mass.) connected on two free throws to push the advantage to four at 72-68.  Sophomore center Matt Devine (Pembroke, Mass.) answered with a three-pointer to pull the Owls to within one with just 22 seconds left to play.  Forced to foul, Westfield got the break they needed when Yard missed the front end of a one-on-one. Johnson, however, came up with a big steal off the ensuing rebound and Yard promptly knocked down two free throws to make the score 74-71 in favor of the Bears.  A three-pointer by Devine at the buzzer from just over half court was off the mark and Bridgewater came away with the big conference win.

Junior forward Marcellus Lee (Quincy, Mass.) scored a team-high 18 points for Westfield which shot 41% (28-69) from the floor.  Devine finished with 15 points, nine rebounds and four blocked shots while Vazquez tallied 15 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals. Jurkowski added 13 points, five, boards, four assists and three steals.

Bridgewater recorded 16 steals in the game and forced 25 Westfield turnovers.  The Bears shot 40% (30-75) from the floor and 77% (10-13) at the line while also turning the ball over 20 times.

The MASCAC schedule resumes for both teams on Tuesday night at 7:30.  Bridgewater travels to Framingham State to take on the Rams while Westfield hosts the Lancers of Worcester State.

Notes: Jackson moved past both Mark Dias (1,282 points) and David Rukstalis (1,271 points) into 11th place on the Bears' all-time scoring list.  Jackson now has 1,292 points in his four seasons at Bridgewater State.