Men's Basketball Falls to Springfield in Hampton Inn/Naismith Classic Title Game

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. -- Led by the Most Outstanding Player Tim Swenson (Millbury, Mass.), the Springfield College men's basketball team toppled Bridgewater State, 80-66, to win the Hampton Inn/West Springfield Naismith Classic in Blake Arena on Saturday afternoon.

For the Pride, it marked the first time since 2010 that it hoisted the Naismith Classic trophy. Springfield now stands at 9-2 on the year, it's best start since the 2004-2005 season. The loss drops Bridgewater State to 5-6.

Swenson had an sensational game as he netted a career-high 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting to go along with a game-high 12 rebounds. Teammate Sean Martin (Rindge, N.H.) was also named to the All-Tournament team after a wonderful all-around effort that featured eight points, three boards, three steals, and three assists.

The Pride had four other players finish the day with double digits in the scoring column, with Alex Garstka (Westfield, Mass.) tallying 13 points, Robbie Burke (Cheshire, Mass.) adding 11, and both Nick McKenna (Danvers, Mass.) and Nick Sienkiewicz (Cranston, R.I.) producing 10 points each.

Justin Clark (Yarmouth Port, Mass.) paced Bridgewater with 16 points to go along with a pair of steals and a blocked shot, while Barrett Murphy (Marshfield, Mass.) tallied 11 points and three rebounds in 22 minutes off the bench.  Michael Lofton (Mansfield, Mass.) chipped in with ten points, four boards and four blocked shots, while Brendan Monteiro (Brockton, Mass.) added ten points. 

Clark and Lofton garnered All-Tournament honors for the the Bears.

As a team, Springfield shot 49.2% from the floor (30-61), including 16-for-28 in the second half (57.1%). The Pride controlled the glass all afternoon, holding a 38-25 advantage, including a 16-6 cushion on the offensive boards.

The Bears connected on 49% (25-51) of their field goal attempts including 8-for-22 (36%) from three-point range.

It was Bridgewater State that had the best of it in the early going, jumping out to a 13-9 lead on a Kyle Gibson (Franklin, Mass.) inside bucket at the 13:59 mark. Over the next 3:54, the Pride put together a 9-0 surge, capped off by a Burke layup to put the hosts up 18-13. Springfield extended its lead to seven twice, the last coming on a Swenson three-point play as he was fouled dunking home an offensive board.

Gibson made it a 31-28 game with 1:27 play, but Swenson was once again key as time expired, tipping in a Springfield miss to make it a 34-28 game at the half.

The Bears opened up the second half on an 11-4 run in the opening 3:31 to regain a 40-39 lead following a trifecta by Brian Grossman (Duxbury, Mass.). Springfield answered right back with a push of their own, using a Martin fast-break bucket to cap off a 8-1 push and force Bridgewater State into a timeout trailing 46-41.

After a Clark triple cut the lead to two, Martin provided a conventional three-point play, and a three by McKenna on the ensuing possession put the Pride up eight and in control. The Bears got within five on two occasions, but Springfield hit 10 of 12 from the charity stripe in the final three-plus minutes as it picked up the 14-point win.