BRIDGEWATER, MA - Bridgewater State (21-6) defeated Saint
Joseph's (21-8), 95-79, in the opening round of the NCAA DIII
Tournament on Thursday evening. Tyler
Kelley ‘11 (Saco, ME) had 16 points to lead
four SJC players who reached double figures. The Bears, who will
travel to Middlebury College on Saturday for a second round
contest, shot 66.7% from the field overall and 73.1% in the second
stanza in the win.
SJC forward Chris Davis ‘11
(New York, NY) kept the Monks in the game with 11 first half points
and a perfect 3-3 effort from beyond the arc. Davis finished the
game with 14 points and four rebounds. Ray
Eatmon ‘10 (Huntington, NY) added 13 points
and eight boards, Elbie Murphy
‘09 (Loudonville, NY) had 10 points, eight assists and four
steals and Scot Vachon ‘09
(Schenectady, NY) chipped in with eight points and four assists for
St. Joe's.
Bridgewater managed to score the most points by an SJC opponent
this season, while the Bears' success rate from the floor was also
an opponent season-high. Bears forward Nicholas Motta ‘11
(Fairhaven, MA) netted a game-high 26 points off an 11-15 effort
from the field and teammate Judah Jackson ‘11 (Everett, MA)
notched 23 for the victors. Roland Millien ‘09 (Stoughton,
MA) corralled 11 boards for Bridgewater, who have now won 15 of
their last 16 games.
The contest was tight early on as Bridgewater held a three point
cushion (13-10), until the Bears took control of the half as they
went on a 12-5 run over a five minute stretch to build the
advantage to 25-15 at 12:15. BSC continued to maintain the
double-digit lead throughout the remainder of the opening stanza
and took a 42-30 edge into the intermission. The Bears forced 13
SJC turnovers and captured seven steals in the first half.
Coming out of the locker room the two teams traded baskets
throughout the first 14 minutes of the second period. With
Bridgewater leading 81-64, St. Joseph's used an 11-2 spurt to trim
the lead to 83-75 with 2:58 remaining.
But Matt McLaughlin ‘10 (Rochester, MA) helped the Bears
settle down, as he went 6-for-6 from the charity stripe to aid BSC
as the team went 10-for-13 from the free throw line in the last
2½ minutes of the game to help close out the contest.
Little defense was played in the second period as the Bears
connected for 19-for-26 of their field goals (73.1%) while the
Monks were allowed to shoot at a 52.8% (19-36) clip. The Bears held
a slight advantage on the glass, 32-28, in the game, while BSC
edged the visitors on the scoreboard, 53-49, in the second
stanza.
Eatmon collected eight caroms in the loss to
become just the fourth player in the team's storied history to
notch 250 rebounds in a season. With 251 boards in 2009, is a
member of an elite group with John Maloney
‘92 (282, 1991), Carl Howell
‘99 (278, 1999; 266, 1998) and Tom Ollman
'88 (251, 1988). His campaign tally ties
Ollman for the fourth-highest single-season total
in program history.
SJC guard Tyler Kelley shot 49.1%
(54-110) from three-point range during his breakout sophomore
season. The success rate is a new SJC single-season record and
breaks teammate Alberto Rue's '10
(Jamaica Plain, MA) 47.4% effort, which was posted last season.
The loss signals the end of collegiate basketball for seniors
Scot Vachon,
Elbie Murphy,
Mitch Ouellet (Fort Kent, ME),
R.J. Mattison (Hamden, CT),
Jay Tutwiler (Sarasota, FL) and
Bobby Russo (Hartsdale, NY). In
four seasons at St. Joe's, the group helped the Monks post a 76-37
record and a .673 winning percentage.
Murphy caps his career with 1,464 points, good for eighth all-time
at Saint Joseph's, while Vachon dealt 365 helpers and ranks 10th in
career assists.
The triumph marks the second time that BSC has advanced in the
tournament. The Bears only other NCAA Tournament victory came
during the 1982-83 season as BSC defeated Muskingum College,
56-54.
THANKS IN PART TO BRIDGEWATER STATE SPORTS INFORMATION
Newspaper Box Score
St. Joseph's (Me.) vs Bridgewater State College
03/05/09 7:00 PM at Bridgewater, MA
At Bridgewater, MA
BRIDGEWATER STATE COLLEGE 95, ST. JOSEPH'S (ME.) 79
ST. JOSEPH'S (ME.) (21-8)
Tyler Kelley 6-9 0-0 16; Chris Davis 4-7 3-5 14; Ray Eatmon 6-13
1-1 13;
Elbie Murphy 5-15 0-1 10; Scot Vachon 3-6 2-3 8; Chris Petzy 2-5
0-0 5;
Alberto Rue 2-5 0-0 5; Anthony Savino 1-2 2-3 4; Mitch Ouellet 2-4
0-0 4;
Zach O'Brien 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-66 8-13 79.
BRIDGEWATER STATE COLLEGE (21-6)
Nicholas Motta 11-15 0-0 26; Judah Jackson 11-18 1-2 23; Matt
McLaughlin 4-7
8-8 16; Roland Millien 3-4 3-6 9; Stace Garrick 4-5 0-0 8; Anthony
Goss 3-4
2-2 8; Corey Connor 2-3 0-0 5; Cesar Oliveira 0-0 0-0 0; Deryk
Largesse 0-1
0-0 0; Corey Ryser 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 38-57 14-18 95.
St. Joseph's (Me.)............ 30 49 - 79
Bridgewater State College..... 42 53 - 95
3-point goals--St. Joseph's (Me.) 9-22 (Tyler Kelley 4-7; Chris
Davis 3-3;
Alberto Rue 1-3; Chris Petzy 1-4; Elbie Murphy 0-5), Bridgewater
State
College 5-12 (Nicholas Motta 4-7; Corey Connor 1-2; Stace Garrick
0-1; Judah
Jackson 0-2). Fouled out--St. Joseph's (Me.)-Elbie Murphy,
Bridgewater State
College-None. Rebounds--St. Joseph's (Me.) 28 (Ray Eatmon 8),
Bridgewater
State College 32 (Roland Millien 11). Assists--St. Joseph's (Me.)
18 (Elbie
Murphy 8), Bridgewater State College 24 (Matt McLaughlin 8).
Total
fouls--St. Joseph's (Me.) 18, Bridgewater State College 15.
Technical
fouls--St. Joseph's (Me.)-None, Bridgewater State College-None.
A-1500