Top-seeded Salem State and second-seeded Bridgewater State will meet for the 2009 MASCAC Men's Basketball Championship after advancing with semi-final round victories on Thursday evening. The 2009 conference championship contest is set for Saturday, February 28th at James Twohig Gymnasium in Salem, Mass. beginning at 3:00 p.m. EST.
The Vikings advanced to the title game with a 92-69 victory over fourth-seeded Framingham State at Twohig Gymnasium, while the Bears notched an 87-56 triumph over third-seeded Westfield State in Thursday night's other semi-final played at the Tinsley Center in Bridgewater, Mass.
Salem State and Bridgewater State shared the MASCAC regular season championship with identical 10-2 league marks, and each team won on the other's home floor during regular season play.
Courtesy Salem State Sports Information
The No. 1 seed Vikings jumped out to a 7-0 lead and never looked back en route to a 92-69 victory over No. 4 seed Framingham State College in a Massachusetts State College Athletic Conference (MASCAC) postseason tournament semifinal round game played this evening at James Twohig Gymnasium.
SSC (21-5) advances to the MASCAC Tournament title game to be played on Saturday, Feb. 28 at 3:00 pm at Salem State College's Twohig Gym. The Vikings, who have won four straight since losing to Framingham on Feb. 10, will face No. 2 seed Bridgewater State College (19-6), an 87-56 winner over No. 3 seed Westfield State tonight, in Saturday's championship game.
Tonight's wire-to-wire gem was fueled by the stellar play of SSC sophomore swingman Nick Linear (Salem, MA). Linear set the game's tone by scoring a first half-high 17 points to go along with four rebounds and a pair of steals. Linear would go on to finish with a team-high 26 points on 11-for-16 shooting from the field and 3-for-3 accuracy from the free throw line.
The Rams (15-12) were paced by junior forward Josue Almodovar's (Holyoke, MA) game-highs of 30 points and 14 rebounds. Senior center Dylan Holmes (Groton, MA), who was honored prior to the contest for being chosen MASCAC Player of the Year for the second straight season, added 17 points, four rebounds, two assists and a block for the winners. SSC freshman swingman Danny Clark (Deerfield, MA) connected for 18 points, which included 12 from beyond the three-point line. Senior forward Ricky Ogboin (Boston) contributed a dozen points and team-highs of 10 rebounds and four blocks.
Courtesy Bridgewater State Sports Information
BRIDGEWATER, Mass. - Sophomore guard Corey Connor (Providence, RI) scored 23 points connecting on seven three-pointers to lead the Bridgewater State College Bears to an 87-56 victory over Westfield State College in a MASCAC Men's Basketball Tournament semifinal game this evening at the Tinsley Center in Bridgewater.
With the win, the second-seeded Bears (19-6) will advance to the conference championship game on Saturday afternoon at top-seeded Salem State. The Vikings knocked off fourth-seeded Framingham State, 92-69, in the other semifinal contest.
This will be BSC's fifth appearance in the MASCAC title game and first since winning the tournament crown in 2005-2006. Bridgewater also won the tournament during the 1998-1999 season with a 68-62 victory over Salem in the championship game.
Connor knocked home 7 of 8 three-point attempts including a perfect 5-for-5 in the second half. Sophomore guard Judah Jackson (Everett, MA) added 19 points with 17 of those coming in the opening stanza.
Senior center Roland Millien (Stoughton, MA) posted his 12th double-double of the season as he finished with 11 points and ten rebounds while also dishing out three assists. Senior forward Stace Garrick (West Warwick, RI) chipped in with 17 points, five assists and four boards. Fourteen of his 17 points came in the second half.
Bridgewater State used two big runs in the opening period to put the game away early. The Bears went on a 21-5 run for a seven-minute period to take a 25-11 lead with 8:36 remaining. BSC ended the frame by scoring 17 of the final 22 points to take a 42-22 advantage into the intermission.
Bridgewater never led by less than 20 points the rest of the way and got up by as many as 35 points (87-52) before settling for the 87-56 win.
The Bears shot 60.8% from the floor including 10 of 12 from behind the arc. After shooting 25.8% in the first half, Westfield was able to rebound with a 53.8% clip in the final period. The Owls struggled mightily at the charity stripe and from three-point range. Westfield connected on just 11 of 23 free throw attempts and was 1-for-13 from downtown.
Senior guard Dave Jaehnig (Quincy, MA) paced the Owls with 15 points and six rebounds before fouling out midway through the second half. Westfield drops to 18-9 on the season and will await word on a possible ECAC Tournament bid.