Men's Basketball Posts 91-78 MASCAC Win Over Westfield State

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University men's basketball team posted a 91-78 victory over visiting Westfield State University in a Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) matchup on Wednesday evening at the Tinsley Center.

The Bears improve to 12-5 on the season and 2-2 in the MASCAC, while the Owls fall to 3-13 overall and 2-3 in conference play. Bridgewater snapped a six-game losing streak versus Westfield and closed the gap in the all-time series to 54-60.

Junior guard Justin Parsons (Portsmouth, R.I.) paced the Bears with 18 points, two rebounds, five assists and a steal. Parsons was 6-for-10 from the floor and a perfect 4-for-4 at the free throw line. Graduate center Emerson Halbleib (Carmel, Ind.) filled the stat sheet with 14 points, nine rebounds, two assists, four steals and two blocked shots, while freshman guard Dante Kikuba (Framingham, Mass.) tallied 11 points, four rebounds, a game-high seven assists and a steal. Halbleib knocked down 4 of 6 field goals and went 6-for-7 at the charity stripe.

Bridgewater State also received 12 points apiece off the bench from junior forward Peyton Priest (Papillion, Neb.) and sophomore forward Keyth Key (Springfield, Mass.). Priest added four rebounds and a pair of assists, while Key was 5-for-7 from the floor and notched three rebounds, two assists and a steal.

Senior forward JT Thompson (Columbia, S.C.) led the way for Westfield State with a game-high 26 points to go along with three rebounds, two assists and two steals. Thompson connected on 6 of 13 three-point attempts. Senior forward Brendon Hamilton (Worcester, Mass.) posted a double-double for the Owls with 17 points and a game-best ten rebounds (five offensive). Hamilton also recorded four assists, two steals and a game-high four blocked shots.

The Bears used a 19-0 run, highlighted by nine points from Parsons, to turn an early four-point deficit into a 22-7 lead. Bridgewater knocked down a trio of three-pointers during the spurt including a pair from Priest and one by Parsons. The Bears maintained the lead throughout the rest of the first half. A Kikuba layup made it a 12-point game (44-32) with 2:35 remaining. The Owls, however, closed out the stanza with a 10-5 run, capped off by a pair of Thompson trifecta to cut the deficit to 49-42 at the break.

Parsons led all players with 14 first-half points. Thompson notched 11 points and Hamilton added ten for the Owls over the first 20 minutes.

The Bears shot 44.2% (19-43) from the floor in the first half including 7-for-17 (41.2%) from behind the arc. The Owls connected on 47.2% (17-36) of their field goal attempts in the opening stanza and converted 4-for-13 (30.8%) from three-point range.

Westfield carried the momentum into the second half and pulled to within one (49-48) following a Hamilton layup. Later in the session, Hamilton had a chance to tie the game but went 1-for-2 at the line to pull the Owls again to within one (60-59) with just under 14 minutes left to play.

Clinging to a three-point lead (66-63) with 11 ½ minutes remaining, the Bears took control of the game with a 10-2 run. Four different players scored during the spurt including four points from Wetterlind. After a Hamilton dunk got the Owls to withing single digits (76-67), Bridgewater put the game well out of reach with a 15-2 run. Kikuba tallied six points (all layups) during the run and gave the Beras their biggest lead of the game at 91-70 with a breakaway layup at th3 2:40 mark.

Bridgewater shot 44% (33-75) for the game and finished 9-for-26 (34.6%) from behind the arc and 16-for-21 (76.2%) at the free throw line. The Bears forced 20 turnovers and held a 26-19 advantage in points in points off turnovers.

The Owls connected on 42.5% (31-73) of their field goal attempts on the evening and finished 7-for-23 (30.4%) from three-point range and just 9-for-18 (50%) at the stripe.

In upcoming action, the Bears travel to Fitchburg State University on a Saturday for a noontime MASCAC game with the Falcons. The Owls host Amherst College on Monday night at seven.