BRIDGEWATER - Bridgewater State used a late second-half rally to defeat Westfield State, 67-62, in the Mass. State Conference men’s basketball opener Jan. 11.

       After an evenly played first half which saw the score knotted at 34-34, Bridgewater seemed to play from behind for most of the second half until the dramatic final two minutes.

       Trailing 62-61 with less than a minute and half to go, senior guard Brian Adamczyk (Chicopee, MA) came up with a big steal and broke in for an easy layup to give Bridgewater a 63-62 lead with 1:11 remaining. 

       After a defensive stand, BSC got the ball back and senior center Tim Ryan (Carver, MA) came up with a big offensive rebound that forced Westfield to foul. Adamczyk missed the front end of a one-on-one, but Ryan was there once again to grab another offensive board. 

       The Owls sent Ryan to the charity stripe and he responded by sinking both free throws to put BSC up 65-62 with 15.6 seconds left.  After a missed Westfield 3-pointer, junior Cliff Furtado (Fall River, MA) iced the game with a pair of free throws to give the Bears the 67-62 victory.

       Furtado led the way for Bridgewater State with 17 points, while senior Peter Santos (Fairhaven, MA) and freshman Tom Cuddihy (Scituate, MA) finished in double figures as well with 14 points and 11 points, respectively. 

       But it was the play of Ryan on the boards that helped BSC to ultimately pull out the win. He finished with a career-high 16 rebounds, eight off the offensive glass.

       Westfield forward Vaso Jaukovic (Montenegro) led all scorers with 20 points on 9-of-14 shooting.  He also pulled down 7 rebounds, and 15 of his 20 points came in the first half.

       Westfield shot 48 percent from the field (22 for 46) but was only 1 for 8 from 3-point range. Bridgewater shot 39 percent, including 6 of 19 from beyond the arc. Westfield committed 24 turnovers, Bridgewater 20.

       The Owls have two home games scheduled this week. On Thursday, Jan. 13, they host Curry College at 6:00, and Saturday, Jan. 15, they host Worcester State at 3:00.