Men's Basketball Drops 84-79 Decision to Worcester State

WORCESTER, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University men's basketball team was overtaken by Worcester State University in the closing minutes on Saturday afternoon.

The Bears held a 10-point lead with just over seven minutes remaining, but they struggled on offense and the Lancers rallied for an 84-79 victory.

BSU (6-10) is now 2-2 in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) after its second straight loss. Defending MASCAC champion Worcester State (9-6) is atop the conference standings at 3-0.

The Bears were in front, 70-60, with 7:19 left after a pair of baskets by Emerson Halbleib (Carmel, Ind.), but they were outscored, 24-9, the rest of the way.

BSU missed 9 of their final 12 shots and had four turnovers after opening that 10-point advantage.

The Bears turned the ball over twice in the final 50 seconds, once with the game tied and the other time with the Lancers holding a two-point lead.

All five starters for the Bears were in double figures with Dante Kikuba (Framingham, Mass.) leading the way with 19 points plus seven rebounds and three assists.

Precious Okoh (Brockton, Mass.) added 18 points with three 3-pointers and had eight assists and five rebounds. Louis Jennings (Walpole, Mass.) scored 17 points with three 3-pointers and grabbed seven rebounds.

Halbleib had 17 rebounds (15 in the second half) while scoring 11 points and blocking five shots.

Worcester State had four starters in double figures, led by Aaron Nkrumah (Worcester, Mass.) with 24 points on 10-for-18 shooting plus seven rebounds, five steals and four blocks.

Zion Hendrix (Charlotte, N.C.) had 15 points and eight assists, Ryan Rubenskas (Bridgewater, Mass.) contributed 14 points, seven assists, seven rebounds and four blocks while Sam Dion (Barre, Mass.) scored 13 points.

BSU held a 49-40 halftime lead after shooting 53 percent, including 8-for-15 from 3-point range, in the opening 20 minutes.

But the Bears missed 14 of their first 16 shots to open the second half and the lead was cut to 57-54.

BSU moved up, 62-54, when Okoh hit a 3-pointer and Kikuba scored on a layup with 10:44 remaining.

A layup by Taylor gave the Bears a 66-57 lead with 8:46 left before Halbleib made his two straight baskets for the 10-point edge.

But Worcester State pulled even with the 11-1 run over 3:02 with BSU managing only a Taylor free throw in that stretch. Two 3-pointers by Nate Bangandozou (Worcester, Mass.) helped the Lancers tie the game.

Worcester State grabbed a 75-73 lead on a Nkrumah basket with 3:07 left. A three-point play by Kikuba pulled BSU within 77-76 with 2:05 to go.

Jennings put the Bears back on top at 79-77 with a 3-pointer with 1:37 left but a jumper by Nkrumah tied it with 1:10 left. BSU then turned the ball over with 50 seconds to play and Zion scored on a layup to give Worcester State an 81-79 lead with 21 seconds remaining.

BSU then turned it over again with nine seconds left and Nkrumah converted a three-point play with six seconds to go to seal the win.

Worcester State opened the game on a 7-2 run before the Bears scored 10 straight points for a 12-7 lead, getting four points from Taylor and 3-pointers from Jennings and Kikuba.

The lead went to 30-20 when Okoh made a 3-pointer with 8:30 left in the half, then 35-20 on a layup and 3-pointer by Kikuba.

A jumper by Rubenskas in the closing seconds pulled the Lancers within 49-40 at halftime.

BSU attempted only eight foul shots in the game, making five, while Worcester State was 5-for-9.

The Bears will play again Wednesday at 7 p.m. against Fitchburg State while Worcester State hosts Trinity on Monday at 3 p.m.