Men's Basketball Downs Wheaton, 79-73

NORTON, Mass. – The Bridgewater State University men's basketball team downed host Wheaton College, 79-73, in non-conference action on Saturday afternoon inside Emerson Gymnasium.

BSU senior center Michael Lofton (Mansfield, Mass.) registered a double-double with 21 points and ten rebounds, both game-highs, to guide the Bears. Lofton also tied Peter Santos' (2001-05) all-time program blocked shots mark of 133 with a block at the 4:24 mark of the second half..

Senior forward Kyle Gibson (Franklin, Mass.) filled the stat sheet with nine points, nine boards, three assists, two steals and two blocks. Junior swingman Tyler DeMelo (East Freetown, Mass.) tallied 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting (4-of-7 from beyond the arc) alongside three rebounds, while sophomore guard Fawaz Mass (Taunton, Mass.) had nine points and senior guard Justin Clark (Yarmouth Port, Mass.) notched eight points, four rebounds and two assists.

Senior guard Eddie Capstick (Worcester, Mass.) paced the Wheaton offense with 18 points on 8-of-14 shooting, four rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals. First-year guard Ryan Fogarty (Walpole, Mass.) and junior guard Billy Battaglia (Simsbury, Conn.) both contributed 13 points, while senior forward Mike Cannon (New York, N.Y.) had eight points and seven rebounds. Classmate Mike O'Loughlin (Milford, N.H.) chipped in with seven points, four assists and two boards.

Trailing by six points (64-58) after a pair of made free throws by Mass at the 7:51 mark of the second half, the Lyons answered with an 11-4 run to take a 69-68 advantage with 3:35 remaining in the contest. Battaglia and Fogarty fueled the run as the duo combined for all 11 points during the spurt with Battaglia scoring the first four points and Fogarty registering the rest down the stretch.

Fogarty gave Wheaton its last lead of the game to cap the run with a right-handed layup off the left block and a successful free throw after he was fouled for the one-point advantage.

Lofton responded for the Bears with a floater in traffic at 2:26 to reclaim a 70-69 margin on the scoreboard and DeMelo followed with a long jumper from the left wing at 1:46 after a missed layup by Wheaton to bump the lead up to 72-69. DeMelo was originally credited with a three-pointer before the referees ruled that he stepped on the three-point line.

Capstick brought the Lyons back within one point at 72-71 as he fought past his defender for a right-handed layup off the left block with 1:26 left to play, but DeMelo drilled a three-pointer from the left wing after Bridgewater State called a timeout to help secure the eventual victory.

Clark and Gibson also went 4-for-4, combined, at the free throw line over the final moments of the game to aid the Bears to their second victory in the last three days.

Bridgewater State shot 38.5-percent (25-for-65) from the floor, 28.6-percent (6-for-21) from long range and 85.2-percent (23-for-27) at the free throw line. Wheaton shot 50.9-percent (27-for-53) from the field, 38.5-percent (5-for-13) from beyond the arc and 63.6-percent (14-for-22) at the charity stripe. The Bears outrebounded their opposition 46-26 – including a 17-3 margin on the offensive glass – and also held a 16-6 differential in second chance points. The Lyons outscored the visitors 44-26 in the paint.

Wheaton (2-5) returns to action on Friday, January 2 against Anna Maria College in the Red & Black Holiday Tournament at 7:30 p.m.  Bridgewater State (4-3) hosts MIT on Saturday, December 6 at 1:00 PM.