Men's Basketball Falls to Framingham State in MASCAC Quarterfinals, 87-86

By Jim Fenton

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. -- The end of the Bridgewater State University men's basketball season came on a basket in the closing seconds Wednesday night.

The fifth-seeded Bears were eliminated from the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament by fourth-seeded Framingham State University, 87-86, after senior Vondre Chase (Watertown, Mass.) scored the game-winning basket with six seconds to go.

BSU (8-18) lost in the quarterfinal-round to the Rams (15-11) at Logan Gymnasium for the second year in a row.

The Bears overcame an 18-point deficit in the first half and held a seven-point lead in the second half.

After being outscored, 13-2, to fall behind by four points, BSU rallied again and held an 86-85 edge with 32 seconds to play.

But Chase, with an assist to junior Fallou Koite (Glendale, Md.), pushed Framingham State back in front and the Bears were unable to get a shot up on their final possession.

Junior Zach Taylor (Quincy, Mass.) led BSU with 22 points and had eight rebounds and four assists.

Senior Dante Kikuba (Framingham, Mass.), in his 104th and final game with the Bears, posted a double-double with 18 points and ten assists to go along with four rebounds and three steals.

The four-year starter finishes with 1,437 points, ranking 11th on the school's all-time list.

He is the career leader with 578 assists, shattering the previous record of 418 that had been established in 1986 by Mark Dias, and finishes second with 245 steals in his career behind Bruce Higgins with 247.

Kikuba entered the game tied for second place with Nicholas Motta with 242 steals.

Sophomore Jacob Stull (Norwell, Mass.) was also in double figures for the Bears with a career-high of 18 points, going 8-for-8 from the foul line. Stull also added six rebounds in 32 minutes off the bench.

Senior Louis Jennings (Walpole, Mass.), in his final BSU game, grabbed 10 rebounds (seven offensive) and scored eight points before fouling out.

Framingham State had three players each score 22 points as it avoided losing to BSU for a third time this season.

Junior Joshua Saint Jean (Lynn, Mass.) went 8-for-13, grabbed 14 rebounds and had three steals before fouling out.

Koite made 13 of 18 foul shots, had five rebounds and three assists while junior Lorenzo Washington (Middletown, N.Y.) was 9-for-19 from the field.

Chase contributed 11 points and eight rebounds.

Both teams shot 45 percent and BSU was 9-for-28 from 3-point range.

The Bears were outrebounded, 34-31, and outscored in the paint, 48-32.

After being down, 22-6, less than seven minutes into the game, BSU rallied to get within 46-40 by halftime.

The Bears took their first lead at 54-53 with 14:53 remaining when Taylor made a pair of foul shots.

BSU extended the lead to 73-66 when freshman Jake Olmstead (Franklin, Mass.) hit a 3-pointer with 8:44 left and it was 75-68 with 8:15 remaining after a Kikuba basket.

But Framingham State went on a 13-2 run over a span of 4:28 to take an 81-77 advantage with 3:04 to play.

BSU went 1-for-5 and turned the ball over four times in that stretch, getting on a layup by Kikuba.

The Bears went back on top, 82-81, with 2:02 left as senior Aidan Rock (Westport, Mass.) and Stull made two foul shots each and Kikuba hit one.

There were four lead changes in a span of 1:10 with Taylor hitting a jumper and Stull converting a long feed from Kikuba for the BSU baskets.

Framingham State had the ball with 32 seconds left after the Stull basket, and Chase converted inside for the win.

BSU was tied with the Rams, 2-2, in the opening minute, but a 12-0 run sent the Bears into a 14-2 hole as they missed nine straight shots before a Kikuba layup.

The Rams' biggest lead was 29-11 with 11:28 left in the half and it was 38-21 before BSU ended the half on a 19-8 run to get within six at the break.

The Bears held Framingham State to 2-for-13 shooting to end the half.

While BSU's season is over, the Rams will be on the road Friday night for a semifinal-round game at either Westfield State or Worcester State.