By James Marsh

Norton, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University men's basketball team started off the season with a win against St. Joseph's of Maine on Friday evening at the Wheaton Tip-Off Classic.

The Bears are now 1-0 on the season with a 85-78 win over the Monks (0-1). Head Coach Matt McLaughlin is now 3-0 in his career on opening night.

Junior forward Louis Jennings (Walpole, Mass.) had 22 points and grabbed six rebounds while sophomore forward Josh Campbell (Plymouth, Mass.) poured in 22 points and added seven boards and four assists to pace the Bears

Junior guard Dante Kikuba (Framingham, Mass.) had 13 points in the win and sophomore guard Zach Taylor (Quincy, Mass.) checked in with nine points and eight rebounds. Junior forward Samuel Omisore (Boston, Mass.) added nine points and five rebounds in 22 minutes off the bench in his BSU debut.

St. Joseph's freshman guard Silvano Ismail (Portland, Maine) led all player with 27 points and added 12 rebounds for the double-double in his collegiate debut. Ismail also contributed four assist, four steals and three blocked shots. The Monks also received 16 points from junior guard John Paul Frazier (York, Maine) and 11 points from sophomore forward Remijo Wani (Portland, Maine).

The game featured eight ties and 30 lead changes and was close throughout.

Bridgewater took the biggest lead of the evening with 10:10 remaining in the second half as Jennings dropped in a layup to make it a ten-point game (69-59).

The Monks chipped away at the deficit over the next seven minutes and closed the gap to one, 77-76, following a Wani trifecta.

The Bears clung to the slim lead as the clock ticked under a minute. Out of a timeout. Kikuba converted a layup to make it a three-point game (81-78).

St. Joseph's had a chance to tie the game with 30 seconds left to play, but Frazier's three-pointer was off the mark.

Campbell and Jennings knocked down two free throws apiece over the final 26 seconds to secure the 85-78 victory.

The Bears shot 34.5% from the three-point line and 39.1% from the field overall. St. Joseph's shot 24.2% from behind the arc and 43.1% from the field.

The Monks struggled throughout the game at the free throw line shooting just 40% (8-20) to the Bears' 87.5% (7-8).

St. Joseph's held a 53-46 rebounding advantage with offensive boards even at 19 apiece.

The Bears scored 23 points off of 26 St. Joseph's turnovers.

The Bears play their second game in the Wheaton Tip-Off Classic tomorrow at 3 p.m. against Anna Maria College. 

St. Josephs will play tomorrow at 5 p.m against host Wheaton.