By Jim Fenton

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The two season-ending injuries occurred roughly three weeks apart to starters on the 2024-25 Bridgewater State University men's basketball team.

Zach Taylor (Quincy, Mass.) was the first to get hurt, suffering a fractured right wrist on a drive to the basket against Salve Regina University last Dec. 30.

Louis Jennings (Walpole, Mass.) then followed him to the injured list when he broke a bone in his hand against Fitchburg State University on Jan. 22.

Gone from the Bears' lineup were players who both were on the court 26 minutes per game while combining to average 24 points and nearly nine rebounds.

BSU, which was the preseason coaches poll favorite to win the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference, dealt with a rash of injuries throughout the year, and losing the two starters was a difficult one-two punch.

All Taylor and Jennings could do was sit on the bench and offer advice to teammates, and the Bears finished 10-16 and 5-7 in the MASCAC.

One year later, Taylor and Jennings are back in BSU's starting lineup, glad that their days of being sidelined are over.

"I missed it like crazy," said Taylor, a junior who is averaging a team-best 16.6 points and is second with 6.8 rebounds this season. "That was the first time I've ever had an injury like that to keep me out more than a week or two. It was brutal.

"It was tough, very tough. When he went down, too, it was tougher. We're such good friends and both of us were going through the same kind of thing at the same time. We had to just sit there and watch the guys compete knowing we could be out there helping."

Jennings, a senior, was averaging 14.1 points and a team-best 6.2 rebounds when he was hurt. He is again the top rebounder this season at 7.1 per game and is scoring 9.1 points.

"I've had injuries before but nothing like that where I missed the end of the year," said Jennings. "The toughest part was me and Zach were both hurt and we are two of the key players.

"It was just bad being on the bench and not being able to help. We could have made a  difference and maybe win the conference."

Taylor was hurt in the first overtime during a 90-89 double OT win at Salve Regina.

He drove to the basket and was fouled, fracturing the wrist while trying to break a hard fall in addition to suffering a cut above the eyebrow that required seven stitches.

Taylor needed surgery on the hand in which a metal plate with screws was inserted and he had to watch the final 16 games.

The game against Salve Regina was a return to the lineup for Taylor, who had sat out the previous two games due to a concussion against Rhode Island College on Nov. 26.

Taylor, who scored 9.8 points with 4.5 rebounds in eight games a year ago, received a medical red-shirt for missing most of last season and has two years of eligibility remaining after this season.

It wasn't until late July this past summer when Taylor was able to start playing basketball again.

"I worked pretty hard to try to get back and being able to compete," said Taylor. "There were times I was looking down at my hand and I couldn't really move my fingers. I didn't know if I was ever going to be able to shoot again. It just made me work that much harder."

Jennings was injured while running back on defense in the fifth MASCAC game and had to miss the final nine games of the season.

He broke a bone in the hand after running into a Fitchburg State player.

After undergoing physical therapy, Jennings was able to get back on the court in late March, giving him plenty of time to prepare for the 2025-26 season.

"Being out, it makes you realize how much you miss it when you're not playing," said Jennings. "I couldn't help my team out and that was hard.

"When I got back this year, I just try to not take it for granted. Every game, I'm like, 'Don't take it for granted.'"

Jennings got ready for the season by working out at Mass Premier in Mansfield with former standout BSU point guard Rocky DeAndrade.

"I felt like I was pretty prepared after the injury," said Jennings.

Taylor, Jennings and the Bears are headed to Las Vegas, Nev., this month to play a pair of games in the D3hoops.com Classic on Dec. 28 and 30.

BSU will first face Whittier of California and then Central of Iowa as it tries to bounce back from a 1-8 start with the MASCAC schedule opening Jan. 7.

Taylor, posting the best number of his career, is glad to be back on the court after watching the final two months a year ago.

"I was so eager, so excited. I couldn't wait for the season," he said. "That first game was all I could think about when I stepped back on campus.

"Getting hurt shows you how quickly it can all be taken away from you."

Said Jennings, "This is my last season and I want to make the most of it."