WESTFIELD, Mass. -- Senior guard Anthony Fortes (Providence, R.I.) posted games highs of 23 points and five assists, and senior center Samuel Johnson (North Chelmsford, Mass.) had 14 points and 11 rebounds to lead Bridgewater State University to a 68-59 victory over Westfield State University in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) men's basketball on Saturday, Feb. 4.
Bridgewater remains in first place in the MASCAC with a 7-2 record and is 12-8 overall. Westfield, which won at Bridgewater, 66-64, earlier this season, is 13-9 and 5-4.
The Bears held a 36-23 halftime lead over the poor shooting Owls (17 percent from the field in the first half) and took its biggest lead of 20 points, 51-31, on a Fortes jumper with 12:47 remaining.
But Westfield, sparked by its determined defense, went on an 11-0 later in the half to pull to within eight points, 59-51, with 3:51 remaining.
Johnson then drained two free throws for his only second-half points to put the Bears back on top, 61-51, at the 3:25 mark. The Owls closed to within eight again, 63-55, at 2:02, but the Bears executed offensively in the final two minutes.
Westfield led early 9-8, but Bridgewater began taking control with an 8-0 run for a 16-9 lead. The Bears led 21-18 at the 5:57 mark then went on to outscore the cold-shooting Owls 15-5 the remainder of the first half. Johnson scored seven points during the key run in the final six minutes of the first half and Fortes tallied five.
Bridgewater only shot 35 percent from the field (Westfield leads the nation in field goal shooting defense), including an 8-for-28 effort (28 percent) in the second half. But the Bears shot 66 percent from the foul line (25-for-38) while Westfield only shot 56 percent (19-for-34).
Fortes also had a team-high three steals and senior guard Corey Ryser (Tewksbury, Mass.) scored 10 points, all in second half.
The Owls were led by 6-7 junior center Matt Devine (Pembroke, Mass.), who scored a team-high 15 points and racked up a career-high 21 rebounds and a game-high six blocks. Devine leads the NCAA Division III in blocked shots per game (5.0).
Westfield high-scoring junior guard Lee Vazquez (Attleboro, Mass.) was guarded closely and held to 14 points. Entering the game, the explosive 5-6 guard ranked 14th nationally in scoring (22.2) and poured in a career-high 41 points this past Tuesday in a win over Worcester.
Vazquez was limited to six points in the first half and in foul trouble during the second half. He did have a game-high eight steals despite playing only 28 minutes.
The Owls received solid bench play from senior forwards Marcellus Lee (Quincy, Mass.) and Steinnhard Renaud (Worcester, Mass.) who finished with nine and eight points, respectively, and helped spark Westfield's second-half comeback.