MCLA Men drop semifinal game to Bridgewater 88-80
North Adams, MA- Led by senior center Samuel Johnson's 23 points and 14 rebounds, the 3rd seeded Bridgewater State Bears defeated 2nd seeded MCLA 88-80 in the Amsler Campus Center on the campus of MCLA. With the win, the Bears (18-9) will move on to Saturday's MASCAC championship game, looking to defend their title from a year ago. MCLA (16-9) will await a potential ECAC berth.
Johnson led a balanced attack in an up tempo game. Aside from Johnson, Bridgewater placed four others in double figures. MCLA was led by Brendan Kordana's 23 points. The Trailblazers played without All MASCAC first team selection, Jon Greenberg, who is out for the season with a knee injury.
MCLA jumped out of gates quickly scoring the first ten points of the night. The Bears would respond with a 13-2 burst over the next four minutes to take a slim 13-12 lead with 13:08 left until halftime. Bridgewater would expand the lead to eight points at 22-14 before MCLA answered with a run of their own. The Trailblazers used a 9-0 spurt capped by a Brendan Kordana triple to take a 23-22 advantage. The Bears once again answered, this time outscoring MCLA 17-8 over the final six minutes to take a 40-34 lead into the locker room. Bridgewater's Corey Connor scored all 12 of his points in the opening half, all of which were behind the arc.
MCLA never led in the second half, though they did cut the margin to 49-47 just 2:13 into the half when Benny Cuprill knocked down a pair of three's, while Ramon Viches putback pulled MCLA within a pair. The Bears responded though with a quick 14-2 run to build a commanding 63-49 lead with just under twelve minutes remaining.
The hosts would cut the lead to seven on a Tyriq Rochester jumper making it 68-61 but MCLA would get no closer the rest of the way. Bridgewater would push the lead to 16 with under five minutes to play and were never threatened down the stretch.
Johnson collected his double double on 6-10 shooting, including an 11-13 performance from the charity stripe. He was joined in double figures by Judah Jackson and Nicholas Motta, each of whom finished with 14 points. Jackson added five assists. Connor did not score in the second period to finish with 12, while Anthony Fortes came off the bench to add 10.
Kordana finished 10-17 from the floor including a pair of triples. Viches would finish with 16 points and 9 rebounds, while Jamal Brown added a double double of 12 points and 11 boards. Benny Cuprill added 10 points and 5 assists.
Bridgewater moves on to play the winner of Salem State and Westfield State.