Men's Basketball Drops 73-51 Decision to Wheaton

NORTON, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University men's basketball team was handed its fourth straight loss on Saturday afternoon.

Shooting just 33.9 percent from the field and turning the ball over 23 times, the Bears dropped a 73-51 decision to Wheaton College at the Emerson Gymnasium.

BSU (2-5) made only 19 of 56 shots and missed 14 of 16 shots from 3-point range in the non-conference loss to the Lyons (5-2 with four consecutive wins).

Wheaton now holds a 15-13 edge in the series, which began in the 1994-95 season.

Freshman Josh Campbell (Plymouth, Mass.) scored 11 of his 15 points in the first half for the Bears and grabbed eight rebounds.

Graduate student Emerson Halbleib (Carmel, Ind.) recorded his fourth double-double in five games this season with 12 points and 12 rebounds for BSU.

The Bears were limited to six field goals in the second half when they were outscored, 35-20.

Wheaton was led by Tristan Herry (Taunton, Mass.) with 16 points while Eoin Morrissey (Watertown, Mass.) added 14 points and eight rebounds and Khaled Thaher (Amman, Jordan) scored 12 points to go with two steals and two blocks.

BSU jumped to a 13-6 just 4:32 into the game with Campbell scoring eight of the points. The lead went to 18-10 when senior Justin Parsons (Portsmouth, R.I.) hit a 3-pointer with 12:50 left in the half.

A Campbell layup with 8:56 before the break made it 26-19, but the Bears were outscored, 19-5, in the final 7:21 of the half and trailed, 38-31.

The only points BSU managed in the last eight-plus minutes of the half were a free throw by freshman Zach Taylor (Quincy, Mass.), a Dante Kikuba (Framingham, Mass.) layup and a layup by Halbleib.

Halbleib's basket with 4:56 to go were the final points of the half for the Bears, who had six turnovers and missed three shots the rest of the way.

The offensive drought continued in the second half as BSU did not score in the opening two minutes, making it nearly seven minutes without a point.

The Bears finally broke through with 17:58 to go on a Campbell jumper, pulling them within 40-33.

Wheaton moved its lead into double digits at 44-33 with 17:01 to go on a Thaher basket, and the Bears were unable to get any closer than seven the rest of the game.

BSU did not reach 40 points until a Taylor free throw with 8:35 left, and the Bears went 6-for-28 from the field in the second half, missing all eight of their 3-pointers.

Wheaton held a 25-2 advantage in bench points. The Lyons turned 23 BSU turnovers into 23 points as the Bears had 13 turnovers in the first half.

BSU is on the road again Wednesday night when it faces Dean College at 5 p.m.

Wheaton travels to Worcester to play Clark University on Wednesday at 7 p.m.