Bridgewater State To Host Saint Joseph's (Maine) In Opening Round Of NCAA Men's Basketball Championships Thursday
Mar 3, 2009

Courtesy Bridgewater State Sports Information

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- The NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament pairings were announced on Monday and the Bridgewater State College Bears will host a first round game against Saint Joseph's College (Maine) on Thursday night at 7 PM.

The Bears (20-6) earned an automatic bid to the NCAAs with a 77-66 MASCAC Tournament championship game victory over Salem State College on Saturday.

The win marked the second time in four years and third time overall that Bridgewater has captured the MASCAC championship. BSC's first captured the conference tournament title during the 1998-99 season.

Bridgewater will be making the program's fourth trip to the NCAA Tournament and third under the guidance of 17th-year Head Coach Joe Farroba. The Bears first advanced in 1983 followed by automatic bids in 1999 and 2006. BSC also reached the 20-win mark for only the third time in school history, joining the ‘82-‘83 squad and the ‘74-‘75 team that each went 21-6.

In his 17 seasons as head coach of the Bears, Farroba has posted a career coaching record of 232-213 (.521) including a MASCAC regular season mark of 121-84 (.591). His 232 wins are by far the most in BSC men's basketball history as he is the only Bridgewater coach to reach the 200-win milestone.

Saint Joseph's (21-7) captured the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Tournament championship with a 74-72 overtime win over Emmanuel College on Saturday to earn the conference's automatic bid.

The GNAC championship is the Monks' first as a second-year member of the league, while the NCAA Tournament appearance is the program's second. Saint Joseph's also advanced in 2003 as an NCAA Division III Independent.

The 20-win season is the 16th in Saint Joseph's basketball history and the second under sixth-year head coach Rob Sanicola's watch.

The winner of Thursday night's first round game will travel to Middlebury College to take on the Panthers on Saturday. Middlebury, the champion of the New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC), received an opening-round bye.