Men's Basketball Falls to RIC, 113-73

By Jim Fenton

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- The Bridgewater State University men's basketball team finished the November portion of its schedule by losing for the fifth time in six games.

The Bears trailed by 30 points at halftime and lost to Rhode Island College, 113-73, at the Murray Center on Tuesday night.

BSU was hit with runs of 16-0 over 3:38 and 14-0 in 3:43 during the first half after trailing by three with less than 10 minutes to go.

It marks the third time in six games that an opponent has gone over the 100-point mark against the Bears this season.

BSU was coming off its lone win over the Wentworth Institute of Technology at the Cave Classic on Saturday while the Anchormen (3-3) snapped a three-game losing streak.

Senior guard Dante Kikuba (Framingham, Mass.) recorded the 200th steal of his Bears' career with 13:05 to go in the first half. The program record is 247 held by Bruce Higgins (1993-97).

Kikuba also had eight points, six rebounds and four assists in the loss.

Junior Sam Sweeney (Burlington, Vt.) led the Bears with 18 points, hitting 5 of 6 shots from 3-point range.

Junior Zach Taylor (Quincy, Mass.) was in double figures with 10 points to go with four rebounds and two assists for BSU while teammate Tzar Powell-Aparicio (Lowell, Mass.), a freshman, scored 10 points with two 3-pointers and had three assists.

RIC had five players in double figures with junior Xavier Mendez (Pawtucket, R.I.) scoring 23 points on 8-for-10 shooting to go with nine rebounds, seven assists and four steals.

Senior Tyriek Weeks (Warwick, R.I.) added 22 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks while senior Loudon Chupas (Colchester, Conn.) had 16 points on 7-for-10 shooting and five rebounds.

Freshman Noe Bom (Hamburg, Germany) made 6 of 8 shots and had 14 points while freshman Kyle Prete (North Providence, R.I.) contributed 10 points.

The Anchormen shot 55 percent from the field while BSU made only 35 percent.

The Bears, who were 10 of 35 on 3-pointers, were outrebounded, 55-38, and were outscored on the fast break, 30-10.

BSU trailed, 13-12, when Taylor made a pair of foul shots with 13:11 left in the opening half.

But in the final 12:55, RIC outscored the Bears, 46-17, to take a 59-29 lead into the locker room at the break.

BSU shot just 30 percent while RIC made 69 percent (24-for-35) in the first half and the Bears were outrebounded, 23-11, while committing 10 turnovers that led to 15 points.

BSU led for just 22 seconds during the early stages of the game and fell behind, 11-3, thanks to a 9-0 RIC run keyed by Chupus.

The Bears missed eight shots to open the game until senior Louis Jennings (Walpole, Mass.) made a basket 4:46 in.

After falling behind, 23-16, BSU got within 23-20, when Taylor hit two foul shots with 9:49 to go in the half.

But the Anchormen scored the next 16 points for a 39-20 advantage. The Bears missed four shots while committing four turnovers in that span while RIC was 7-for-7, getting seven points from Bom.

A 3-pointer by Sweeney with 5:55 left ended a drought of more than four minutes without a field goal.

BSU was behind, 43-27, but RIC put together a 14-0 run for a 30-point lead. The Bears missed five shots and had four turnovers during that RIC run.

The Anchormen shot 7-for-9 in that run with Prete getting six of the points.

In the second half, BSU could get no closer than 25 points, that occurring in the opening 2:26.

RIC got its lead over 40 at 97-56 with 7:50 to go and went over 100 when taking a 101-56 lead less than a minute later.

The largest lead for the Anchormen was 46 when they were in front, 105-59, with 4:44 to play.

In the season opener, BSU gave up 129 points to UMass Dartmouth, setting a program record for points allowed. The previous mark was 125 in a game against Boston State on Dec. 7, 1971.

The Bears have a tough assignment to open next month as they travel to Medford, Mass. to face Tufts University on Wednesday, Dec. 3.

The Jumbos (4-2) opened the season ranked No. 4 in the national Division III poll and are currently No. 22. They defeated MIT on Tuesday night.

RIC will host Williams College on Sunday at 3 p.m.