Springfield, Mass. - January 3, 2020 - The Springfield College men's basketball team eased past Bridgewater State, 77-45, in the Hampton Inn/West Springfield Naismith Classic on Friday afternoon in Blake Arena. 

The Pride improved to 9-1 with the victory, and Springfield, which is receiving votes in the latest D3hoops.com National Poll, is off to its best start since the 1997-98 squad won the first nine games of their season.  The loss dropped Bridgewater State to 2-9 on the year. 

Heath Post (Cheshire, Conn.) paced the Pride with 20 points and 12 rebounds, while Jake Ross (Northampton, Mass.) added 20 points, 10 boards, and five assists of his own.  Trey Witter (Unionville, Conn.) was a terrific spark off the bench, delivering eight points, including seven in the first half, and chipped in four assists.  Springfield finished the contest shooting 31-for-69 (45%) and owned a 50-37 cushion on the glass. 

For Bridgewater State, Ryan Carney scored 13 points, Dimitri St. Louis hauled down 13 rebounds to go along with 12 points. As a team, the Bears shot just 18-for-62 (29%) and were outscored in the paint, 42-30.

Playing for the first time since December 13, it was a sluggish offensive start for Springfield.  After Bridgewater State gained an 11-7 lead following a three-point play by Ward at 13:08, the Pride scored 11-straight points, including six by Post to take an 18-11 advantage with 6:58 remaining in the stanza. The Pride's lead grew to 30-13 following back-to-back layups from Deonte Sandifer (Pittsfield, Mass.) with 3:10 on the clock, and Post drilled a pull up jumper in the waning seconds to give Springfield a 38-20 cushion at the break.  

Collin Lindsay (East Longmeadow, Mass.) and Ross knocked down consecutive three-pointers just under four minutes into the second half to push the lead to 51-22 and Ross cashed in on a deep jumper with 7:37 left in regulation to make it a 68-32 lead.  The Bears would get no closer than 29 points and Springfield coasted to their ninth win of the season.

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