By Jim Fenton

NEWPORT, R.I. -- The Bridgewater State University men's basketball team ended 2024 with a double-overtime victory on Monday afternoon.

Junior Aidan Rock (Westport, Mass.) made a foul shot with 0.7 seconds on the clock in the second OT, giving the Bears a 90-89 victory over Salve Regina University at the Rodgers Recreation Center.

The win ended a three-game losing streak and pushed the Bears to the .500 mark at 5-5 heading into 2025.

It was the Bears' first double overtime game since January 7, 2016, an 83-76 win at home over UMass Boston.

With the game tied, 89-89, BSU junior Abdoul Bah (Lynn, Mass.) came up with a steal with 21 seconds left in the second extra session.

Following a timeout, Rock was fouled just before time expired, and after missing the first free throw, he hit the game-winner to give the Bears the non-conference victory.

There were nine lead changes and 15 ties in the game, the first meeting between the two programs since 2018.

The Bears never trailed in the two OTs, but there were six ties in the final 10 minutes before Rock finished the game.

Junior Dante Kikuba (Framingham, Mass.) led BSU with 24 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and four steals while playing 46 of the 50 minutes.

Rock added 17 points to go with six rebounds and a pair of steals.

Junior Louis Jennings (Walpole, Mass.) chipped in with 15 points and five rebounds and sophomore Zach Taylor (Quincy, Mass.) had 11 points and four rebounds.

Salve Regina (3-7, five straight losses) was led by junior Sean Seymour (Albany, N.Y.) with 27 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks.

Senior Jojo Powers (Dedham, Mass.) added 20 points, five assists, four rebounds and three steals while senior Declan Walmsley (Franklin, Mass.) had 10 points and four rebounds.

The Bears hit 43 percent of their shots and went 9-for-25 on 3-pointers while the Seahawks hit 47 percent from the field and were 5-for-23 from long range.

BSU was down, 71-67, with less than two minutes to go in regulation before rallying to force OT.

Kikuba scored on a layup with 1:23 to go and Jennings made a layup with 33 seconds to play, making it 71-71.

The Bears were in front, 59-54, with less than 10 minutes to go but were outscored, 15-6, in nearly seven minutes.

In the first OT, BSU took a 75-71 lead on two foul shots by senior captain Alex Gonzalez (Peabody, Mass.) and a steal and layup by Rock with 2:50 left.

After Salve Regina tied it, Kikuba made a 3-pointer for a 78-75 lead and a pair of Rock foul shots put the Bears in front, 80-77, with 51 seconds remaining.

Powers tied it on a three-point play with 44 seconds left, but Gonzalez gave BSU an 82-80 lead on a layup with 10 seconds remaining.

Salve Regina sent the game into a second OT when Powers made a layup with 1.8 seconds to go. Following a BSU turnover with 1.2 seconds showing on the scoreboard, the Seahawks had a chance to win the game, but a three-pointer was off the mark.

BSU opened an 87-84 lead in the second OT as Rock hit two foul shots and Kikuba made another 3-pointer.

A three-point play by Seymour tied it with 3:30 left, and BSU went back on top, 89-87, when junior Samuel Omisore (Boston, Mass.) hit two free throws.

Powers tied the game again with 1:06 left, making two free throws, leading to Rock's game-winning foul shot.

The Bears held a 41-40 lead at the half, using an 8-0 run to take a 22-16 lead. There were four ties and five lead changes in the half with BSU holding a six-point lead and Salve Regina being in front by as many as seven.

The Bears travel to Worcester on Saturday to play Clark University at 1 p.m. while Salve Regina is at Roger Williams on Thursday at 2:30 p.m.