Men's Basketball Posts 76-63 Win over Manhattanville at NYU Holiday Classic

MANHATTAN, N.Y. -- The Bridgewater State University men's basketball team posted a 76-63 victory over Manhattanville College at the NYU Holiday Classic on Friday afternoon.

The Bears (6-3) take on host New York University on Saturday afternoon at two, while the Valiants (4-6) battle Gettysburg College at noon.

Junior guard Tyler DeMelo (East Freetown, Mass.) led five players in double-figure scoring for the Bears as he finished with 14 points. DeMelo connected on 5 of 7 field goal attempts including 3-for-5 from three-point range.

Senior guard Justin Clark (Yarmouth Port, Mass.) added 12 points to go along with six rebounds, three assists and three steals, while senior forward Kyle Gibson (Franklin, Mass.) notched 11 points and nine board, and senior forward Michael Lofton (Mansfield, Mass.) chipped in with ten points and four rebounds.

Sophomore forward Greg Romanko (Mansfield, Mass.) came off the bench to tally ten points and eight rebounds in 18 minutes of action.  Romanko went 3-for-5 from the floor, 2-for-3 from behind the arc and 2-for-2 at the free throw line.

The Bears used an 18-3 run during a five-minute stretch of the first half to open up a double-digit advantage that they would not relinquish. Romanko sparked the run with eight points on a pair of trifectas and two free throws.  The lead ballooned to as much as 30 points (66-36) in the second half as BSU coasted to the win.

Junior forward Juan Camacho (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) paced the Valiants with 15 points, while freshman guard Timmy McCauley (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y.) chipped in with 11 points.  Junior forward Andrew Winter (Queens, N.Y.) led all players with ten rebounds.

Bridgewater shot 50% (29-58) from the floor including 8-for-18 (44%) from three-point range. The Bears also limited the Valiants to 39% (27-69) shooting and just 2-for-16 (13%) from behind the arc.

Notes: With his ten points, Lofton moved past Sean Carey (1,146 pts.) into 21st place on the Bears' all-time scoring list.  Lofton now has 1,151 points in four seasons at Bridgewater State.