Men's Basketball Edges Framingham State, 72-68

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – In MASCAC men's basketball action, the Bridgewater State University Bears edged the visiting Framingham State University Rams, 72-68, on Tuesday night at the Tinsley Center in Bridgewater.

Winners of three of their last four game, Bridgewater improves to 5-6 on the season and 2-0 in the MASCAC.  Framingham slips to 6-8 overall and 0-2 in conference play.

The Bears opened up an early 15-4 advantage and led 23-13 with eight minutes remaining in the opening stanza.  The Rams used a 13-4 run highlighted by three-pointers from junior guard Rico DePaolis (Watertown, Mass.) and sophomore guard Tyrone Figueroa (Revere, Mass.), and a traditional three-point play from sophomore forward Jamie Henderson (Duncanville,Texas), to close the gap to one (27-26) with 2:30 left on the first half clock.  Bridgewater would ultimately take a 31-29 lead into the intermission.

Bridgewater maintained a small advantage until the 11:39 mark of the second half when DePaolis drained a three to knot the score at 47-47.  The Bears, however, would score the next seven points capped off by a three-point play from junior guard Brendan McDonald (Dorchester, Mass.).  The seven consecutive points was part of a 13-4 run as the BSU lead ballooned to nine points (60-51) with 6:06 left to play.

Trailing 64-55 with under three minutes remaining, Framingham got a pair of free throws from Figueroa and converted a BSU turnover into a Mahlik Johnson (Attleboro, Mass.) three-point play to cut the deficit to 64-60.  Bridgewater junior guard Shawn Yard (Brockton, Mass.) knocked down 1 of 2 at the charity stripe at the other end of the floor to make it a five-point game (65-60) with 2:27 left to play.

A DePaolis basket was answered by a layup and free throw from Bears' junior forward Anthony Fortes (Providence, R.I.).  A driving layup by Figueroa once again made it a four-point game (68-64) at the 1:41 mark, but Framingham could not take advantage of a missed BSU jumper as Figueroa was called for an offensive foul on the Rams' ensuing possession. 

With 55 seconds remaining, the Bears wound the play clock down, but a missed three-pointer by Yard gave Framingham some life.  Figueroa was fouled at the other end of the floor and pulled the Rams to within two (68-66) as he knocked down a pair of free throws with 14 seconds left.  Framingham fouled quickly and Bridgewater senior guard Corey Ryser (Tewksbury, Mass.) calmly sank both free throws.  Figueroa went the length of the floor for an easy layup off the ensuing inbounds, but Yard iced the game with two free throws with just four seconds left.

Fortes paced the Bears with 15 points and six assists. Yard finished with 13 points, three assists and two steals with nine of his 13 points coming from the charity stripe.  Senior center Max Dolgin (Randolph, Mass.) had a terrific game off the bench as he scored 12 points, pulled down seven rebounds and blocked three shots.

Figueroa finished with 17 points and seven rebounds for the visitors, while freshman forward Andre Santana (Worcester, Mass.) notched 17 points, six boards and two blocked shots.

Both teams shot 45% from the floor and 83% at the free throw line.  Bridgewater, however, attempted twice as many free throws and converted on 20 of 24 from the stripe.  The Rams held a 38-27 rebounding advantage including a 14-7 edge on the offensive glass, but also turned the ball over 25 times.

The Bears hosts non-conference foe UMass Boston on Thursday evening at 5:30, while the Rams entertain MASCAC rival Fitchburg State on Saturday afternoon at three.