Lofton's Double-Double Leads Men's Basketball to 62-56 Win over Anna Maria

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- Junior forward Michael Lofton (Mansfield, Mass.) posted a double-double with 21 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Bridgewater State University men's basketball team to a 62-56 win over visiting Anna Maria College on Thursday night at the Tinsley Center.

With tonight's victory, Bridgewater State improves their overall record to 2-5 as the Bears snapped a three-game losing streak. Anna Maria falls to 2-6 as the AMCATS have dropped five of their last six games.

Lofton, who record his third double-double of the season, shot 10-13 from the field while adding three blocked shots, two steals and a pair of assists.  Five of his 12 boards came off the offensive glass.

Junior guard Justin Clark (Yarmouth Port, Mass.) added 11 points and five rebounds and a game-high five steals in tonight's win.  Senior guard Brendan Monteiro (Brockton, Mass.) chipped in with 13 points.

The Bears, who led from start to finish, opened the contest with a 7-0 run holding the AMCATS scoreless until the 15-minute mark.  Anna Maria had a tough time setting up an offense against the BSU defense as they had 8 turnovers in the first half.  The AMCATS only run came at the nine- minute mark when they pulled within two (16-14).  The Bears responded with a 10-0 run to give them a 28-16 advantage, their largest lead of the half.

Anna Maria continued to struggle to find offensive rhythm in the second half as the Bears increased their lead to as many as 17 points.  The AMCATS pulled the score to within eight in the final ten minutes but Bridgewater's defense was too much.

Sophomore guard Tyler Delorey (Worcester, Mass.) paced the AMCATS with 11 points and six rebounds.  Junior guard Hugh Daye (Worcester, Mass.) also added 11 points and pulled down four boards.

Neither team shot particularly well in the game.  The Bears shot 38% (23-60) while the AMCATS connected on 41% (22-54) of their field goal attempts.  Bridgewater held a 40-35 rebounding advantage including a 17-10 edge on the offensive glass.  The Bears turned those 17 offensive rebounds into 20 second chance points.

Bridgewater State will travel to Las Vegas, Nevada to participate in the D3hoops.com Classic on December 27th.  Their first opponent the Bears will face is Ramapo College at 11:00 AM.  Anna Maria returns to action January 4th as they host Fitchburg State at 12:00 PM.