Men's Hoops Battles Back to Edge Worcester, 94-86

WORCESTER, Mass. – Senior guard Rocky DeAndrade (Mansfield, Mass.) scored a season-high 24 points and senior forward Joseph Carty (Natick, Mass.) notched a double-double with 21 points and 18 rebounds to lead the visiting Bridgewater State University men's basketball team to a 94-86 come-from-behind victory over Worcester State University in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) matchup on Tuesday night at Lancer Gymnasium.

The Bears, who overcame an early 14-point deficit, improve to 11-7 on the season and 4-1 in the MASCAC. Bridgewater scored the last 16 points of the game and held the host Lancers (1-17, 0-5 MASCAC) scoreless over the final five minutes.

DeAndrade, who now has 988 points in his career, connected on 8 of 17 field goals including 4-for-9 from behind the arc. He also added three rebounds and a team-high six assists.

Carty went 13-for-14 from the free throw line and 11 of his 18 boards came off the offensive glass. The double-double marked his team-leading 11th of the season.

Sophomore guard Ryan Carney (Easton, Mass.) added 18 points, four rebounds and three assists for the Bears, while sophomore forward Rayshon Ward (Plymouth, Mass.) tallied 17 points, six caroms, three assists and a pair of steals.

The Bears overcame an outstanding effort by the sophomore tandem of Will Watkins Jr. (Southbridge, Mass.) and sophomore guard Cal Howes (Maynard, Mass.) who combined to score 57 points. Watkins led all scorers with 31 points as he went 7-for-11 from beyond the arc. Howes matched his career-high with 26 points, going 6-for-10 from three-point range.

Worcester used an early 12-0 run to open up a 17-3 lead less than five minutes into the game. Bridgewater answered with a 16-5 run to make it a three-point game with 10:57 on the clock. Carney scored six points during the spurt while Carty and sophomore forward Dimitri St. Louis (Brockton, Mass.) notched five points apiece.

The Lancers maintained a slight lead for the rest of the half and went into the break up 46-40.

Howes scored 21 of his 26 points in the opening stanza while Watkins tallied 15. DeAndrade led BSU with ten first-half points.

Carty scored the first six points of the second half to knot the score at 46-46. Worcester State pushed back ahead as the team continued to connect from long range, but Bridgewater State kept the game within reach. The Lancers were up by eight, 86-78, with 5:11 to go following Watkins' seventh three-pointer of the game. Worcester, however, would not score again as the Lancers missed each of their last seven shots.

Bridgewater closed out the game by scoring the last 16 points. Back-to-back three-pointers by Carney gave the Bears their first lead of the game, 88-86, with 1:23 remaining. A Ward dunk with 39 seconds left made it a four-point game (90-86). Bridgewater went 4-for-6 from the line in the final 24 seconds to close out the scoring.

The Bears shot 47% from the floor including 9-for-19 (47%) from long range. Bridgewater also converted 19 of 22 (86%) free throw attempts. The Lancers connected on 57% (35-62) of their field goal attempts and knocked down a school record 16 three-pointers (16-for-28). Worcester made just two trips to the charity stripe. 

The MASCAC schedule continues for both teams on Thursday night at 7:30. The Bears entertain the Falcons of Fitchburg State University, while the Lancers travel to Westfield State University.