Okoh, Parsons Lead Men's Basketball to 89-84 Win Over Johnson & Wales

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Senior guard Precious Okoh (Brockton, Mass.) scored a season-high 30 points, and junior guard Justin Parsons (Portsmouth, R.I.) added a career-high 25 points to lead the Bridgewater State University men's basketball team to an 89-84 victory over Johnson & Wales University on Saturday afternoon at the Wildcat Center.

The Bears remain unbeaten on the season as they improve to 4-0, while the Wildcats (0-1) were playing in their season opener.

Okok connected on 9 of 20 field goal attempts and wen 11-for-12 at the free throw line. He also added seven rebounds, a game-best six assists and a steal.

Parsons knocked down 7 of 15 shots from the floor and finished 8-for-9 from the line in 26 minutes off the bench. He also connected on 3 of 10 three-point field goals and added five rebounds, two assists and a steal.

Graduate center Emerson Halbleib (Carmel, Ind.) finished with a double-double for the Bears as he scored 14 points on 6 of 7 shooting and pulled down a game-high 16 rebounds including seven off the offensive glass. Halbleib also filled the stat sheet with two assists, a steal and a game-best four blocked shots.

Sophomore guard Josh Zangerle (Wappingers Falls, N.Y.) paced JWU with 28 points, while senior guard Aireus Raspberry (Cranston, R.I.) checked in with 21 points and six rebounds, and graduate guard Bryan Davis (Miramar, Fla.) notched a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds (four offensive).

The Bears trailed by as many as 13 points (31-18) in the first half but rallied to make it a six-point game (46-40) at the break. A 12-5 run to open the second half capped off by a pair of Dante Kikuba (Fr., Framingham, Mass.) free throws gave the visitors their first lead of the afternoon, 52-51, with 17 minutes left to play. Later in the period, an Okoh layup gave the Bears their biggest lead of the game at nine points, 65-56.

Trailing 71-65 with under seven minutes left to play, the Wildcats used a 10-2 run to jump ahead, 75-73. Raspberry and Sean Duke each connected for trifectas during the spurt. The Bears answered with four straight free throws from Okoh and Parsons, before Raspberry drained another three to make it a 78-77 game with 3:29 showing on the scoreboard. Johnson & Wales would not score again, however, until the clock ticked under a minute.

A pair of layups by Okoh and two free throws from junior forward Peyton Priest (Papillion, Neb.) pushed the Bears back on top, 83-78. Raspberry connected for a pair of free throws at the other end of the floor and graduate guard Jontai Williams (Bronx, N.Y.) dropped in a layup off a BSU turnover to make it a one-point game with 51 seconds remaining. The Wildcats, however, were unable to convert on on each of their next three straight possessions and the the Bears went 6-for-8 at the free throw line over the final 51 seconds to secure the win.

Bridgewater shot 39% (27-69) for the game, 30% (10-33) from three-point range and a scorching 86% (25-29) at the free throw line. The Bears finished with a 53-39 rebounding advantage including a 20-15 edge on the offensive boards.

JWU posted a 39% (32-83) shooting percentage with a 33% (8-24) clip from behind the arc and went 12-for-14 (86%) at the stripe. The Wildcats forced 21 BSU turnovers which led to a 24-13 advantage in points off turnovers.