Derek Thompson (Hyannis, MA/ Barnstable) had 18 points and six rebounds for the Bears (4-4), who trailed 67-59 with 1:32 to play before ending the game with their mini-run. The win sends Bridgewater into Friday’s championship game where they will face Keene State (NH) at 3:00 pm. Keene outlasted Plattsburgh State in overtime, 101-100. Montclair will take on Plattsburgh in the consolation game at 1:00 pm.
The loss offset a milestone evening for MSU’s Gian Paul Gonzalez (No. Haledon, NJ/ Manchester) who became the 23rd player in Montclair State history to reach the 1,000-point plateau. Gonzlaez finished with a game-high 33 points and also added eight rebounds for the Red Hawks (3-5), who committed four turnovers in the final 92 seconds of the game.
Gonzalez, who now has 1,008 points in his MSU career, hit two free throws to put Montclair State up 67-59. However, a Red Hawk led to three Bridgewater points as Tom Cuddihy (Scituate, MA/Scituate) hit a free throw and Tyler Lang (Franklin, MA/Franklin) put back the second miss to cut the lead to 67-62 with 1:15 to play. Rose then stole the ball with 58 ticks left and scored on a layup to trim the lead to three and Cuddihy’s basket with 45 seconds to go made the score, 67-66.
Montclair State would gain possession and hold the ball until 20 seconds left. But following a timeout, the Red Hawks committed their final miscue leaving the door open. Rose got the ball with four seconds left and misfired on his first attempt but got the rebound. He was then fouled as the buzzer sounded. After a brief discussion, Rose, who made just 1-of-6 attempts at the charity stripe this season, calmly sank both shots to give the Bears the win.
Cuddihy had 17 points and five rebounds while Cliff Furtado (Dartmouth, MA/ Dartmouth) had 14 points off the bench, including four three-pointers. Lang added six points and nine rebounds.
Gonzalez, who posted his third 30-point effort of the season, reached the mark with 8:24 to play in the second half as he hit the first of two free throws. Gonzalez is now tied with Anthony Peeples (1997-1999) for 22nd place. He has totaled 1,050 for his entire collegiate career with the first 442 coming while at Messiah during the 2002-03 campaign.
Jonathan Arthur (Maplewood, NJ/Columbia ) had 19 points and 10 rebounds for the Red Hawks while Jamal Ford (Secaucus, NJ/Secaucus) had eight points, eight rebounds, seven assists and five steals.