Eighteen of Cuddihy’s points came from behind the arc, as he made a season-high 6 three-pointers. He was a perfect 4-4 in the second half from downtown, hitting his final three with 27 seconds left on the clock to ice the game. Cuddihy now has 963 points in his career as he is trying to become the 23rd player in BSC men’s basketball history to reach the milestone.
From the tip, Western Connecticut looked determined as they kicked off the game with a 9-2 run. After trading baskets for several minutes, Bridgewater found themselves down 22-10. The Bears felt the urgency to score, and rallied for a 9-2 run of their own to cut the deficit to 24-19. The Bears turned the intensity up to close out the half on a 13-15 run, as the teams head to the locker room with the score tied, 34-34.
The second half started off with an electrifying alley-oop dunk by Thompson. Cuddihy nailed a three on the next possession to put the Bears ahead 39-34, and BSC remained on top the rest of the game. Western Conn. put one final rally together in the closing minutes. Finding themselves down 10 with 1:49 on the clock, they went on a 7-0 run to cut the lead to 3. Bridgewater did the Colonials a favor by missing four straight free throws, but a big offensive board by sophomore forward Roland Millien (Stoughton, MA) after the first two misses and a steal by senior guard Adam Rose (Harwich, MA) after the next two kept the Bears in control.
Millien finished with a double-double of his own has he tallied 15 points and 10 rebounds. Rose chipped in with 11 points, including some clutch free throw shooting down the stretch. Senior guard K.C. Grandfield (Dartmouth, MA) tallied 9 assists, and had 5 boards on the evening.
Western Connecticut was driven by a rookie backcourt. Freshman guard Tyshawn Gillespie (Hartford, CT) led WCSU in scoring and assists. He totaled 21 points (shooting 9-13 from the field) and picked up 6 assists. Freshman guard Carlos Pellot (Carmel, NY) added 15 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 blocked shots.
Bridgewater (14-5) will be back in action on Saturday afternoon as the Bears host MASCAC rival Framingham State College at 3 PM. BSC is currently 6-1 in conference play this season and in second play in the MASCAC standings. Western Connecticut (12-8) will head to the University of Southern Maine on Saturday as the Colonials take on the Huskies in a Little East Conference matchup. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 o’clock.