SALEM,
Mass. -- The Bridgewater State College men's basketball captured the MASCAC
Tournament title on Saturday afternoon as the Bears knocked off host Salem State
College, 77-66, in the championship game. With the win, Bridgewater (20-6)
earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament which will get
underway next Thursday. The NCAA tournament pairings are expected to be
announced on Monday morning. This marks the second time in four years and third
time overall that Bridgewater has captured the MASCAC championship. BSC's first
captured the conference tournament title during the 1998-99 season. The Bears
will also be making the program's fourth trip to the NCAAs. Bridgewater first
advanced in 1983 followed by automatic bids in 1999 and 2006. BSC also reached
the 20-win mark for only the third time in school history, joining the 82-83
squad and the 74-75 team that each went 21-6.
'We got the trifecta,'' said BSC Head Coach
Joe
Farroba . 'The best thing about this is we won the (regular-season)
conference championship, the tournament championship and we're going to the
NCAAs. 'That's the first time we've done that, gotten all three. The kids worked
really hard. These are kids with a good work ethic, and they don't want to
lose.'
Bridgewater had four players in double figures, led by senior forward
Stace
Garrick (6'2''-F) (West Warwick, RI), who came off the bench to score 17
points to go along with seven rebounds. Sophomore forward
Nicholas Motta (6'3''-F) (Fairhaven, MA) added 16 points and six boards,
while senior center
Roland Millien (6'6''-C)(Stoughton, MA) finished with 12 points, seven
rebounds and four steals. Sophomore guard
Judah
Jackson (6'1''-G) (Everett, MA) chipped in with 12 points and seven
rebounds. The Bears never trailed in a game which featured just one tie (19-19).
After Salem evened the score at 19 apiece, BSC responded with a 15-4 run over a
four-minute stretch to take a 34-23 lead with 4:22 to play in the first half.
Bridgewater led 39-31 at the intermission, but Salem went on an 8-2 run to open
the second half to pull to within two points at 41-39.
Courtesy of Bridgewater State Sports Information
Tournament Final: Bridgewater St. - Salem St. 77-66 Tournament Semifinals: Bridgewater St. - Westfield St. 87-56
Salem St. - Framingham St. 92-69
Farroba
SALEM,
Mass. -- The Bridgewater State College men's basketball captured the MASCAC
Tournament title on Saturday afternoon as the Bears knocked off host Salem State
College, 77-66, in the championship game. With the win, Bridgewater (20-6)
earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament which will get
underway next Thursday. The NCAA tournament pairings are expected to be
announced on Monday morning. This marks the second time in four years and third
time overall that Bridgewater has captured the MASCAC championship. BSC's first
captured the conference tournament title during the 1998-99 season. The Bears
will also be making the program's fourth trip to the NCAAs. Bridgewater first
advanced in 1983 followed by automatic bids in 1999 and 2006. BSC also reached
the 20-win mark for only the third time in school history, joining the 82-83
squad and the 74-75 team that each went 21-6. 
