FRANKLIN, Mass. – Senior guard Alan Pettway (Worcester, Mass.) scored a career-high 28 points to lead the visiting Bridgewater State University men's basketball team to an 87-77 victory over Dean College on Thursday night at Pieri Gymnasium.
The win marked the 400th in the illustrious coaching career of Bridgewater State skipper, Joe Farroba. The winningest coach in BSU men's basketball history, Farroba has produced an overall record of 400-354 (.531) in 30 seasons, all with the Bears. He is the 34th head coach in Division III men's basketball history to reach the 400-win milestone.
Bridgewater State improves to 2-8 on the season as the Bears have won each of their last two games. Dean falls to 5-3 with the setback.
Pettway connected on 10 of 17 field goal attempts, including 3-for-5 from three-point range, and went 5-for-6 at the free throw line. He also dished out three assists.
Freshman center Camden Dunbury (Pocasett, Mass.) added 16 points, seven rebounds (three offensive) and five blocked shots for the Bears.
BSU sophomore forward Keyth Key (Springfield, Mass.) recorded his first collegiate double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds (three offensive) to go along with four assists. Junior forward Stanley Pierre-Louis (Roxbury, Mass.) also posted his first collegiate double-double as he tallied ten points and ten rebounds (six offensive) in 16 minutes off the bench.
Dean junior forward Mark Blair (Rosedale, N.Y.) led all players with a season-high 29 points on 13 of 20 shooting. Blair added a game best 15 rebounds to record his sixth double-double of the season. Sophomore guard Shim Daniels (New Haven, Conn.) poured in 18 points on 8 of 12 shooting in 18 minutes off the bench, while junior forward Hunter Meyer (Taylor Mills, Ky.) contributed 14 points and seven rebounds.
Tonight's game was a tale of two halves. Dean shot 56% from the floor in the first and scored 28 points in the paint. The Bulldogs were in front by as much as 12 in the first 20 minutes and held BSU to 36% shooting. Dean led 46-37 at the half.
In the second half, the Bears flipped the script and shot 61% and held Dean to 35% shooting. BSU also won the rebounding battle in the frame, 24-19, and turned eight offensive boards into 11 second chance points.
The visitors began the second half on a 22-4 run, capped by a Pettway fastbreak layup, to take a 59-50 lead. Dean fought back to take a 65-64 lead with a Winston Bryan (Greensboro, N.C.) lay-in with ten minutes left to play. After another Pettway jumper gave the Bears the lead, they would hold the advantage for the remaining 8:44 en route to the 87-77 win.
The Bears are off until Thursday, December 30th when the take on Bowdoin College in the opening round of the Eastern Connecticut State University Holiday Invitational. Tip-off is slated for 5:00 PM. The Bulldogs travel to Lasell University on Saturday (Dec. 11) afternoon for a four o'clock Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) matchup with the Lasers.