SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – The Springfield College men's basketball team cruised to a 77-45 victory over visiting Bridgewater State University in the semifinal round of the 2020 Hampton Inn West Springfield Naismith Classic on Friday afternoon at Blake Arena.
The host Pride improve to 9-1 on the season and advance to the tournament title game which will take place on Saturday afternoon at three. The visiting Bears fall to 2-9 overall and will play in the consolation game on Saturday at one.
Senior guard Jake Ross (Northampton, Mass.) tallied 20 points, ten rebounds (four offensive) and a game-best five assists, and senior forward Heath Post (Cheshire, Conn.) notched 20 points and 12 boards to lead the way for Springfield. Ross posted his seventh double-double of the season, while Post recorded his sixth double-double of the 2019-2020 campaign.
Senior forward Dimitri St. Louis (Brockton, Mass.) paced Bridgewater State with 12 points and a game-high 13 rebounds (six offensive). Senior guard Ryan Carney (Easton, Mass.) added 13 points and four caroms for the Bears.
Bridgewater State led 11-7 following a basket and free throw from senior forward Rayshon Ward (Fayetteville, Mass.) with 13:08 remaining in the first half. Springfield then outscored the Bears 23-2 over the next ten minutes to take a 30-13 lead and control of the game. Senior guard Trey Witter (Unionville, Conn.) scored seven points during the game-changing run, while Ross and Post added six points apiece. The Pride held a 38-20 advantage at the break and got up by as many as 36 points (68-32) in the second half.
Springfield shot 45% (31-69) from the floor, 41% (7-17) from behind the arc and 62% (8-13) at the free throw line for the game. The Pride held a decided edge in points off turnovers (14-3) and fastbreak points (13-2), while the Springfield bench outscored the BSU reserves by a margin of 29-7.
Bridgewater connected on just 29% (18-62) of its field goal attempts and went 2-for-14 (14%) from three-point range and 7-for-14 (50%) at the charity stripe.