Courtesy of Bridgewater State Sports Information

ALFRED, N.Y. -- The Bridgewater State University football team dropped a 33-27 overtime decision to #15 Alfred University in the opening round of the 2016 NCAA Division III Tournament.

Senior quarterback Tyler Johnson (East Syracuse, N.Y) scored on a  two-yard touchdown run on Alfred's overtime possession to give the Saxons the dramatic win in a very tightly contested matchup.

AU (11-0), the top-ranked team in its eight-team bracket, found itself down by four points late in the fourth, before a 34-yard TD pass from Johnson to senior wide receiver Emile Frigon (Utica, N.Y.) with3:45 left gave the Saxons a 27-24 lead.

Bridgewater (8-3) turned the ball over on downs at the Alfred 41-yard line on its ensuing possession, but the Bears got one more chance when AU went three-and-out. A short punt into a stiff wind gave the visitors the ball at their own 48. Eight plays later, junior placekicker Joe Savignano (Brockton, Mass.) booted a 43-yard field goal to tie the game at 27-27 and send it into overtime.

Bridgewater got the ball first in OT, starting at the Alfred 25. Seven plays later the Bears had the ball at the AU 19, facing a third-and-15, before a pass to the endzone was intercepted by AU senior strong safety Liam Hobbins (Saco, ME). On Alfred's possession, the Saxons used five plays to move to the Bear two-yard-line, and Johnson scored on a run up the middle to give AU the win

Each team turned the ball over on their initial possessions of the game: AU on a fumble at the Bridgewater 45 and the Bears two plays later on Hobbins' first interception of the game, at the Alfred 45 (returned to the Bear 40). Alfred drove to the Bridgewater 14 before junior kicker Trevor Monk (Liverpool, NY) booted a 31-yard field goal to give the Saxons a 3-0 lead with 8:40 left in the first.

Bridgewater went ahead early in the second, when Higgins tossed a 32-yard TD pass to junior wide out Travis Bassett (Littleton, Mass.) on fourth-and four, putting the Bears up 7-3 early in the second quarter. Alfred answered right away when sophomore Jayden Gavidia (Homer, N.Y.) returning the ensuing kickoff 82 yards for a touchdown to put Alfred up 10-7.

The Bears pulled to within a point at 10-9 when a blocked punt bounced out of the end zone for a safety with 9:30 left in the half.

Bridgewater pulled back in front on its first possession of the second half. Starting at their own 25, the Bears drove 75 yards in seven plays with junior running back Malik Garrett (Dorchester, Mass.) scoring on a three-yard run with 4:14 into the third. Junior running back Alex McLaughlin's (Littleton, Mass.) two-point conversion run gave his team a 17-10 advantage.

Alfred answered right back on the Saxons' next possession, marching 67 yards in nine plays, with senior tailback Casey Bright (Pulaski, N.Y.) capping the drive with a three-yard TD run that tied it at 17-17 with 6:51 left in the third.

A 33-yard tocuhdown pass from Higgins to sophomore receiver Jack Levanchy (Walpole, Mass.) put the Bears back on top, 24-17, with 4:24 left in the third.

AU scored 10 straight points to take the late lead. Monk's 24-yard field goal 43 seconds into the final frame made it 24-20, and the Saxons took a 27-24 lead on Johnson's pass down the seam to Frigon. Savignano's line-drive kick with the wind just cleared the crossbar for the late game-tying field goal.

Alfred struggled to move the ball in the first half, gaining just 90 yards of offense. The Saxons, with one of the top rushing attacks in the country (more than 240 yards per game), managed just 58 in the first 30 minutes. Alfred would kick its running game into gear after intermission, finishing the contest with 229 yards on the ground and 405 yards of offense overall.

Johnson finished with 113 yards rushing and a TD and Bright had 101 yards and a score. Johnson was 15-of-25 passing for 176 yards and a touchdown. Frigon caught five passes for 89 yards and Bright had six catches for 52 yards and a touchdown.

Higgins completed 13 of 27 passes for 193 yards with two TDs and two interceptions. Bassett caught seven passes for 117 yards and a TD and Lavanchy had three catches for 50 yards and a touchdown. McLaughlin finished with 78 yards rushing for a Bear offense that produced 327 yards.

Freshman linebacker Isaiah Moak (Averill Park, N,Y.) had a game-high 19 tackles (one for loss) for AU. Junior linebacker A.J. LiCata (Lake View, N.Y.) added 12; senior end Charles Branwell (Brooklyn, N.Y.) had seven; and Hobbins had six to go with his two interceptions.

Junior linebacker Charles McCarthy (North Reading, Mass.) had 11 tackles and senior linebacker Stephen Jacobs (Tyngsboro, Mass.) added nine (1½ for loss) to pace the Bridgewater defense. Senior defensive end Matt Halaby (Methuen, Mass.) had seven tackles (three for loss, one sack) and a fumble recovery and senior linebacker A.J. Pascuzzo (Wallingford, Conn.) had six stops (one for loss) and a forced fumble for the Bears.