Greenberg's free throw leads MCLA to tenth straight win 78-77 over Bridgewater

Bridgewater, MA- MCLA's Jon Greenberg converted a free throw with four seconds left to lift the visiting MCLA Trailblazers past Bridgewater State 78-77.  The win was MCLA's 10th straight and improves the Trailblazers to 14-3 overall and 5-0 in the league.

MCLA actually trailed 77-74 with 14 seconds remaining when Jamal Brown canned a wide open three pointer to knot the score at 77 apiece.  Bridgewater pushed the ball up the floor, but Nicholas Motta turned it over with a backcourt violation leaving five seconds on the clock.

Following an MCLA timeout, Greenberg was fouled on the inbounds pass.  The senior missed the first attempt, but calmly drained the second for the slim one point lead.  The Bears pushed to get a last second shot off but it fell short and the Trailblazers won their 10th straight game.

Greenberg finished with 20 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a pair of steals.  Junior forward Chris Harris (Dorchester, Mass.) added 20 points, seven boards, two assists and two steals, while Brown notched 14 points, three boards and a pair of assists.

Senior forward Nicholas Motta (Fairhaven, Mass.) paced Bridgewater State with double-double totals of 16 points and ten rebounds to go along with four assists and two steals.  Classmate Corey Connor (Providence, R.I.) added 16 points, four boards and a pair of assists, while junior guard Corey Ryser (Tewksbury, Mass.) scored 13 points off the bench.

Trailing by four points with 8:31 remaining in the first half, Bridgewater  went on a 10-0 run and outscored MCLA 15-5 over the final eight minutes, as the Bears took a 41-35 lead into the intermission.

MCLA held the edge in play over much of the second half.  After Bridgewater increased their advantage to ten points (45-35), the Trailblazers responded with a 15-2 run to jump ahead 50-47 with Brown tallying seven points during the run.  MCLA increased their lead to nine points (64-55) before the Bears battled back with a 7-0 run to cut the deficit to two at 64-62.

The Trailblazers would jump ahead, 70-64, before Ryser drained a three and Connor knocked down a pair of free throws after a technical foul was called on Greenberg.  A Motta layup put the Bears up by one (71-70), but MCLA quickly tied the game on a Greenberg free throw.  The score was knotted at 74-74 heading into the final 90 seconds.  Sophomore guard Anthony Fortes (East Providence, R.I.) knocked down the first of two free throws for BSU and after Motta pulled down an offensive board, Ryser connect on a baseline jumper to make it a 77-74 advantage with 44 seconds left to play.  That would set the stage for MCLA's heroics in the final 15 seconds.     

MCLA will look for its eleventh straight win on Saturday when they host Worcester State at 5:30pm.