By Jim Fenton

PAXTON, Mass. -- The Bridgewater State University men's basketball team improved to 2-1 in the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference with a road win.

The Bears stopped a comeback bid by Anna Maria College Wednesday night to secure an 82-66 victory at the Fuller Activities Center.

The teams met for the first time in a MASCAC game with the AMCATS moving to the conference from the Great Northeast Athletic Conference this season.

BSU improved to 4-10 overall while Anna Maria is 4-9 and 1-2 in the MASCAC.

The Bears, who never trailed, built a 14-point lead early in the second half before the AMCATS trimmed that advantage to just three near the midway point of the half.

But BSU went on a 16-6 run after that to open up a double-digit lead once again.

Senior Dante Kikuba (Framingham, Mass.) led the Bears with 25 points (tying a season high) on 9-for-15 shooting with two 3-pointers. He added four rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Junior Zach Taylor (Quincy, Mass.) contributed 16 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots. The double-double marked Taylor's second of the season.

Senior Louis Jennings (Walpole, Mass.) added 13 points and a pair of steals while junior Josh Campbell (Plymouth, Mass.) checked in with eight points, five rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block in the win.

Anna Maria was led by sophomore Lucas Miglionico (Dudley, Mass.) with 28 points on 9-for-16 shooting with five 3-pointers. The other four AMC starters combined for just nine points.

Also in double figures for the AMCATS was sophomore Nolan Serafin (Burrville, R.I.) with 14 points plus seven rebounds.

The Bears made 49 percent of their shots (34-for-70) while Anna Maria connected on 40 percent (24-for-60).

BSU had only eight turnovers while scoring 22 points off 22 Anna Maria miscues.

The Bears were outrebounded, 44-34, but had 13 steals and outscored the AMCATS in the paint, 52-28.

BSU opened the game by taking a 9-4 lead with Kikuba scoring five of the points in the first 3:07.

A layup by Serafin pulled Anna Maria even at 11-11, and after the game was tied at 13, the Bears scored seven points in a row.

A jumper by freshman Jake Olmstead (Franklin, Mass.) capped that spurt for a 20-13 lead, and he hit a foul shot with 7:56 to go for a 25-15 advantage.

The Bears held a 43-31 lead at halftime after Campbell hit a jumper with 15 seconds to go.

A layup by Taylor 1:19 into the second half pushed BSU's edge to 45-31 and a pair of Kikuba free throws made it 50-37 with 15:56 remaining.

But the AMCATS went on an 11-4 run, getting a pair of 3-pointers from Serafin, to trim that lead to 56-53 with 11:11 left.

After a Jennins' layup put BSU in front, 62-55, sophomore Lucas Miglionico (Dudley, Mass.) made three foul shots and Anna Maria was within 62-58 with 6:49 to play.

The Bears then outscored the AMCATS, 10-1, in the span of 2:01 to rebuild the lead to 13 points with just over four minutes to go.

Kikuba had a four-point play and a layup while junior Sam Sweeney (Burlington, Vt.) and Taylor added layups and the win was sealed.

BSU returns to the Tinsley Center Saturday for a 2 p.m. game against the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.

Anna Maria will be at Westfield State at 2 p.m. on Saturday.