Providence, R.I.-Senior guard Eric Alleyne (Watertown, MA) scored a game-high 16 points, handed out six assists and corralled seven rebounds as the Rhode Island College men's basketball team edged Bridgewater State, 58-56, in non-conference action played at The Murray Center on Tuesday evening.

Bridgewater (2-3) raced out to an 11-4 lead after sophomore guard Patrick McGuinness (New City, NY) grabbed an offensive rebound and scored a layup with 15:13 remaining. Rhode Island College (4-1) answered back with an 18-0 run of their own, capped by an Alleyne layup with 10:51 left. The Anchormen increased their lead to 13 points, 30-17, on a pair of Alleyne free throws with 4:23 remaining in the stanza. The Bears battled until the end of the half, cutting the lead down to 10, 35-25, entering halftime.

RIC shot 50.0 percent (13-for-26) from the field in the half, while shooting 64.3 percent (9-for-14) from the free throw line. Bridgewater State shot 47.8 percent (11-for-23) from the field and 25.0 percent (2-for-8) from long range, while shooting just 20.0 percent (1-for-5) from the charity stripe.

The Bears used a 12-4 run to open the half and cut the RIC lead to two, 39-37, with 12:41 remaining in regulation. They continued their comeback, finally taking the lead on a steal and layup by senior center Michael Lofton (Mansfield, MA) with 8:52 remaining. A pair of free throws from RIC senior forward Patrick Matthews (Waipahu, HI) with 5:13 remaining built the RIC lead back to nine, 53-44.

The Bears again cut the lead down and took the lead with just under 90 seconds remaining on a three-pointer by senior forward Kyle Gibson (Franklin, MA). Matthews sealed the victory for the Anchormen in the final minute by making 1-of-2 free throws with 59 seconds left and laying in a feed from senior forward Chris Burton (New Rochelle, NY) with 29 ticks left on the clock. A last second shot by Lofton was off the mark, giving the Anchormen the 58-56 victory.

Lofton led BSU with 13 points, five rebounds and three assists. McGuinness scored 11 and recorded four steals. BSU shot 51.3 percent (20-for-39) from the field, 35.7 percent (5-for-14) from behind the three-point arc and 61.1 percent (11-for-18) from the free throw line.

Burton chipped in eight points and four boards for RIC, while Matthews scored 13 points and pulled down four rebounds. The Anchormen shot 43.8 percent (21-for-48) from the field, 9.1 percent (1-for-11) from three-point land and 60.0 percent (15-for-25) from the charity stripe.

In upcoming action, Rhode Island College will play at Salve Regina on Saturday, Nov. 29 (1 p.m.).