Bears Claw Past Falcons in MASCAC Action

Fitchburg, Mass.  – The Fitchburg State men's basketball team dropped an 83-65 decision to the Bears of Bridgewater State in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) action on Saturday afternoon at Parkinson Gymnasium.

The Basics

Score: Fitchburg State 65, Bridgewater State 83
Records: Fitchburg State (7-9, 2-3 MASCAC) | Bridgewater State (13-5, 3-2 MASCAC)

How It Happened

Bridgewater grabbed a 10-4 advantage to open the frame with a pair of three-pointers from freshman Louis Jennings (Walpole, Mass.) and classmate Dante Kikuba (Framingham, Mass.).  The Bears extended the lead to 21-4 with seven points from Justin Parsons (Portsmouth, RI) before the Falcons added buckets from Tyrone Manderson (Saugus, Mass.) and Jaylen Swan (Belleville, NJ).

Trailing 33-8 the Falcons' reeled off 10 unanswered points, Javon Taylor (Cambridge, Mass.) started the streak with a baseline three-pointer and Quincy Taylor (Boston, Mass.) capped the run with a tip-in. The Bears closed out the first half with an 11-0 run to push the lead to 46-22, including five points from Parsons.  

The Falcons opened the second half with three points from Javon Taylor, but Bridgewater State upped its lead (52-25) with a dunk from Emerson Halbleib (Carmel, IN). The Falcons' countered with a four-point play from Frederic Siayor (Worcester, Mass.) but Halbleib added a pair of layups to extend the Bears' lead to 58-34. Sophomore Matthew Tanis (Hialeah, Fla.) knocked down a trey and a jumper to cut the deficit to 61-42. However, the Bears added to the lead (76-54) with back-to-back jumpers from sophomore Alex Gonzalez (Peabody, Mass.).  

Fitchburg State finished with a three-pointer from Jordan Polanco (Methuen, Mass.) and a layup from Swan resulting in the 83-65 final.

Inside the Numbers

• Quincy Taylor paced the Falcons with a double-double, 16 points, and a game-high 16 rebounds. Siayor added 16 points.
• For the Bears, Parsons and Halbleib chipped in with 16 points apiece.
• Bridgewater State shot 35-for-84 (41.7%) from the field and (7-for-22) 31.8% from three-point range
• Fitchburg State finished 24-for-83 (28.9%) overall and (7-for-25) 28% for beyond the arc
• The Bears held a 63-51 advantage on the boards

Up Next

Falcons return to action on Monday when they travel to Mitchell College for a non-conference game starting at 6:00 PM.