Fitchburg State Falls to Bridgewater State, 84-77

Valliere notches double-double with 25 points and 11 caroms in Falcons MASCAC setback

FITCHBURG, Mass. (January 5, 2013) – The Fitchburg State men's basketball team fell to Bridgewater State, 84-77 in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action this afternoon at the recreation center.

Senior Zach Valliere (Douglas, Mass./Douglas) led the Fitchburg State offense, registering a double-double with 25 points and 11 boards on 11-of-19 shooting for the game, while classmate Tom Henneberry (Lexington, Mass./Lexington) chipped in with 13 points, seven rebounds and five assists on the night. Senior Jeremy Kimber (Fitchburg, Mass./Fitchburg) was also strong, adding nine points on 3-of-5 shooting.

Bridgewater State received a strong outing from senior guard Shawn Yard (Brockton, Mass./Brockton), totaling a team best 22 points on 5-0f-11 shooting from the field, while hitting 12-of-15 shots from the charity stripe. Four other Bears recorded double figures as sophomore Michael Lofton (Mansfield, Mass./Mansfield) collected 15 points and a team leading 15 caroms, while seniors Brendan McDonald (Dorchester, Mass./Boston College HS) and Justin Clark (Yarmouth Port, Mass./Dennis-Yarmouth) registered 14 and 11 points respectively.

Fitchburg State held a narrow 36-34 advantage at the end of the first period of play, as Valliere collected 17 of his game high 25 points in the first period of play, while Clark tallied all 11 of his points in the first half to pace the Bears offensively.

In the second stanza, the Falcons upped their lead to six (40-34) in the first minute of play as Kimber connected on a pair of free throws before Henneberry knocked down a jumper at the 18:50 mark. Bridgewater State continued to battle, taking its first lead of the half with 16 minutes remaining in the contest on a three pointer by McDonald.

The final ten minutes of play featured several lead changes with neither team gaining more than a two bucket advantage, but the Bears grabbed the lead for good (68-67) with about four minutes remaining in the contest on a jumper from Yard to secure their sixth victory of the season.

For the game, Bridgewater State shot 50.0% from the field (27-of-54), including 8-of-16 from three point range, while also holding a 46-36 margin on the glass. The Falcons were also consistent, connecting on 29-of-69 shots (42.0%) for the game.

Fitchburg State (6-4, 0-1 MASCAC) will be back in action on Wednesday as it visits Fisher College at 8 p.m. Bridgewater State (6-5, 1-0 MASCAC) travels to Framingham State University on Tuesday for a contest starting at 8 p.m.