Monteiro Nets 27 to Lead Men's Hoops to 89-80 MASCAC Win over MCLA

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – Junior guard Brendan Monteiro (Brockton, Mass.) poured in a career-high 27 points off the bench to lead the Bridgewater State University Bears to an 89-80 victory over visiting MCLA in Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) men's basketball action on Wednesday night at the Tinsley Center.

The Bears improve to 8-9 on the season with the win and even their MASCAC record at 3-3.  MCLA slips to 8-10 overall and 5-1 in conference play as the Trailblazers suffered their first MASCAC loss of the season.

Monteiro was lights out from start to finish as he knocked down 10 of 12 field goal attempts while also notching four rebounds, three assists and two steals.  Seventeen of his 27 points came in the second half.

Senior guard Shawn Yard (Brockton, Mass.) posted a double-double with 12 points and a career-high 12 assists for the Bears. Yard also filled up the stat sheet with five rebounds and a season-high seven steals.  Senior forward Anthony Fortes (Providence, R.I.) chipped in with 14 points. Fortes needs just 21 points to reach 1,000 for his career.

Freshman guard Paul Maurice (Boston, Mass.) paced the visitors with 19 points, six boards and four steals, while junior forward John Jones (Worcester, Mass.) recorded a double-double with 14 points and 12 rebounds in addition to six assists.  Senior forward Vernon Cross (Colonie, N.Y.) chipped in with ten points and junior forward Ramon Viches (Boston, Mass.) came off the bench to score 13 points to go along with three blocks.

After a tightly contested first half which saw four ties and five lead changes, the teams headed to the intermission with the score knotted at 38-38.

The opening seven minutes of the second half was more of the same with three ties and seven lead changes.  The Bears would take the lead for good on a pair of Monteiro free throws with 13:42 remaining.

Bridgewater's lead ballooned to ten (63-53) on a Michael Lofton (Mansfield, Mass.) jumper as the clock ticked down to 9:39.  However, back-to-back layups by Cross and senior center Richard Johnson (Springfield, Mass.) cut the Trailblazers deficit to six.

The Bears would respond with a 16-0 run over the next four minutes to seemingly take control of the game.  Monteiroe scored the first seven points of the run while Fortes capped it off with a three-pointer to give BSU their largest lead of the game, 79-57, with just 4:42 remaining.

Maurice took over the game over the next 2 ½ minutes as he scored 15 points and stroked four trifectas during that span to pull the Trailblazers to within six at 84-78.  MCLA, however, was unable to get any closer as the Bears hung on for the victory.

The game featured 44 turnovers and 48 fouls with three players, one from MCLA and two from Bridgewater, fouling out.  The Trailblazers turned the ball over 27 times which led directly to 34 BSU points.

The Bears shot 53% (31-for-58) from the floor for the game including 64% (14-for-22) in the second half.  The BSU bench, led by Monteiro's 27, outscored the MCLA reserves by a margin of 52-28.  Junior forward Michael Grandfield (Dartmouth, Mass.) also added nine points to go along with five boards in 24 minutes off the bench.

MCLA held a deciding 45-31 rebounding advantage with a 15-5 edge on the offensive glass.  The Trailblazers shot just 40% (26-for-65) from the floor and 25% (5-for-20) from three-point land.  Besides Maurice's 4-for-7 performance from three-point range, the rest of the team was just 1-for-13 from behind the arc.

Both teams are back in action on Saturday afternoon.  Bridgewater entertains MASCAC rival Fitchburg State University at one, while MCLA hosts non-conference foe Fisher College at three.