Bridgewater State Sneaks Past Fitchburg State, 82-76

Knower shoots 8-of-10 from the field for 22 points in Falcons MASCAC loss

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. (January 15, 2011) – Behind 31 points from senior forward Nicholas Motta (Fairhaven, Mass./Fairhaven), the Bridgewater State University men's basketball team posted a 82-76 come-from-behind victory over Fitchburg State University in MASCAC action this afternoon.

ELLIOT KNOWER

The Bears, who trailed by as many as ten points in the second half, used a late 13-1 run to post their second MASCAC victory of the season. Bridgewater improves to 9-5 on the season and 2-1 in the MASCAC, while Fitchburg falls to 3-10 overall and 0-2 in conference play.

Trailing 66-60 with 5:25 left to play, the Bears scored 11 straight points in a three-minute stretch highlighted by six points from Motta and five by junior guard Corey Ryser (Tewksbury, Mass.).  Back-to-back jumpers by Motta gave the Bears their first lead since the 18:08 mark of the second half. Ryser then followed with a big three-pointer to make the score 71-66. 

After Fitchburg State connected on 1-of-2 free throws, sophomore guard Anthony Fortes (East Providence, R.I.) put in a driving layup to cap off the Bears rally 13-1 run. The Bears then knocked down 9 of its final 10 free-throws to clinch the win.

Ryser finished with 12 points, three assists and a pair of steals, while senior guard Judah Jackson (Everett, Mass.) added 19 points, five rebounds and two steals.  Bridgewater shot 52% (28-54) for the game and connected on 20-of-27 (74%) attempts from the charity stripe.

Senior forward Elliot Knower (Baldwinville, Mass./Narragansett) paced Fitchburg State with 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting, while sophomore Zach Valliere (Douglas, Mass./Douglas) added 14 points, eight rebounds and three steals. Senior Robert Hopkins (East Hartford, Conn./RHAM) and junior Tom Henneberry (Lexington, Mass./Lexington) chipped in with 12 points apiece. The Falcons shot 51% (32-63) from the floor but committed 22 turnovers, resulting in 25 Bear points.

Fitchburg State (3-10, 0-2 MASCAC) will be in action again on Tuesday as it hosts Worcester State University at 7:30 p.m. Bridgewater State (9-5, 2-1 MASCAC) will host Worcester State on Thursday at 7;30 p.m.

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Bridgewater State 82, Fitchburg 76