Men's Basketball Downs Medgar Evers, 77-62

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- Senior forward Michael Lofton (Mansfield, Mass.) tallied 19 points, nine rebounds and five blocked shots to lead the Bridgewater State University men's basketball team to a 77-62 victory over Medgar Evers College in the consolation game of the BSU Bears Invitational on Sunday afternoon at the Tinsley Center.

The Bears even their season record at 2-2 with the win, while the Cougars fall to 1-3.

Lofton, who garnered All-Tourament honors, connected on 8 of 14 field goal attempts and added two assists and a steal.  He moved into 23rd place on the Bears' all-time scoring list as he now has 1,067 points.  Junior guard Tyler DeMelo (East Freetown, Mass.) chipped in with 15 points on 6 of 10 shooting including 3-for-5 from three-point range. 

As a team, the Bears shot 50% (8-16) from behind the arc, but struggled at the charity stripe for the second straight game converting just 13 of 22 (59%) free throw attempts.

Bridgewater held a 35-30 advantage at the intermission and used a 15-2 run early in the second half to take control of the game.  Lofton and senior guard Justin Clark (Yarmouth Port, Mass.) each scored six points during the run with Clark connecting on a pair of three-pointers.

Bridgewater got up by as many as 27 points (73-46) in the final stanza before settling for the 15-point win.

Senior center Valin Williams (Brooklyn, N.Y.) paced the visitors as he recorded a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Junior guard Matthew Walker (Brooklyn, N.Y.) earned All-Tournament honors as he scored a team-high 19 points and pulled down four rebounds.

Medgar Evers shot just 37% (25-68)  from the floor and turned the ball over 21 times.  The Tigers held a 43-37 rebounding advantage with a 19-10 advantage on the offensive glass.