Bridgewater State Edges Salem State 89-86

Bridgewater State Edges Salem State 89-86

SALEM, Mass. - Hakeem Animashaun (Dedham, Mass.) scored 40 points for the second time in four games, but Ryan Carney (Easton, Mass.) and Rayshon Ward (Fayetteville, NC) combined for 50 points and 12 rebounds to propel Bridgewater State to an 89-86 win over Salem State at Twohig Gymnasium on Tuesday night. The Bears improve to 4-10 on the season and even their record at 1-1 in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC). The Vikings are now 1-13 on the season and 0-2 in conference.

Bridgewater State jumped out to a 13-8 lead following two free throws by Alan Pettway (Worcester, Mass.). The Bears went up by 10 points at the 12:59 mark, before an 11-2 run by Salem State drew the Vikings to within a point, 22-21 after Jaden Castillo (Lawrence, Mass.) drained three straight free throws.

Salem State took its largest lead of the half (six points) following an Animashaun miss and putback that put Salem State on top 44-38 with 1:03 remaining in the half.

The Vikings led 44-40 heading into halftime.

Animashaun was dominant in the paint leading the half in points with 23 (FG 9-13). MacDonald got hot from behind the arc scoring 14 points (FG 5-9, 3PT 4-8). Dimitri St. Louis (Brockton, Mass.), Carney and Pettway all had nine points to top the Bears, who were outrebounded 21-12 in the first half. Both teams were solid from the field with Salem State shooting 51.6% (16-31) while Bridgewater State was 16-37 (43.2%) from the floor. 

The game settled in to a back-and-forth affair in the second half, featuring 12 lead changes overall. Four minutes into the second, Carney took it to the rack and scored a layup and completed a three-point play to tie the game at 50-50.

Later, trailing by six, Salem State hit back-to-back threes by Patrick Bulger (Marblehead, Mass.) and Chris MacDonald (Wakefield, Mass.) to re-take a 76-73 lead.

With the game winding to a close, Animashaun, who was double-teamed down low, tied the game for the final time 84-84 after squeezing between two defenders. Rayshon Ward (Fayetteville, N.C.) then put the Bears up for good with a layup with 1:03 remaining. The Vikings failed to convert from the foul line and St. Louis iced the game with a pair from the line with :10 seconds remaining.

Bridgewater State shot 44% (FG 33-75) from the floor while the Vikings hit 45.8% (FG 33-72) of their shots.

For the Bears, Carney finished with 27 points and four rebounds while Ward had 23 points and 10 rebounds. St. Louis connected for 16 points and 10 rebounds with three blocks. Pettway- 10 points and Jonathan Mercado (Lynn, Mass.) – 11 points put all five Bridgewater State starters in double figures.

MacDonald added a career-high 21 points for the Vikings while Castillo scored 10 points with five rebound and five assists. Evan Mason (Gloucester, Mass.) corralled 13 rebounds for the Vikings.

The Bears turned the ball over only seven times, while both benches accounted for just seven points combined.