Junior Derek Thompson (Hyannis, MA) scored 15 of his team-high 19 points in the second half and senior Cliff Furtado (Dartmouth, MA) had 13 second half points to lead the charge. Thompson, who was 7-of-10 from the floor, posted his third double-double of the season as he also pulled down 10 rebounds. Furtado finished with 16 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists.
The game was a tale of two halves as the Anchormen outscored the Bears 26-9 over the final 7 ˝ minutes of the opening stanza to take a 50-33 lead into the lockerroom. RIC sophomore guard Davon Yarbrough (New Haven, CT) had 18 points in the first half and finished with a game-high 21. Rhode Island shot 50% (19-for-38) from the floor in the half including 8 of 14 (57%) from the behind the arc.
The second half was an entirely different story as the Bears outscored the Anchormen 53-30 and shot 57% (20-for-35) from the floor. BSC battled back from as many as 19 points down in the stanza and trailed 59-52 when junior forward Tyler Lang (Franklin, MA) hammered down his second dunk of the game and sophomore guard Tom Cuddihy (Scituate, MA) drained a three-pointer to pull the Bears to within two points. With 9 ˝ miniutes to go, Cuddihy finally evened things up at 65-65 as he burried another three.
The teams traded baskets over the next six minutes and the Anchormen led 77-75 with less than three minutes on the clock. Thompson then hit a layup and was fouled to tie the game. The ensuing free throw gave BSC the 78-77 lead. On their next possession, Rhode Island junior guard Kinsey Durgin (Greenwood, ME) made one of two free throws to tie the game at 78-78. Thompson then gave the Bears the lead for good with a basket with 1:55 to play. He then hit a pair of free throws with just over 30 seconds left to give BSC a four-point advantage at 82-78.
Durgin, who finished with 18 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals, cut the lead to 82-80 as he got his own rebound and laid it back in with 16 seconds remaining. The Anchormen were unable to foul off the inbounds and Furtado got behind the defense for an easy layup to put the game away.
Lang finished with 10 points to go along with 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 blocked shots. Cuddihy also finished in double figures as he scored 18 points. Sophomore point guard Matt Schnider (Rockland, MA) was outstanding running the offense for the Bears as he had 10 points and a game-high 8 assists.
BSC is off until next Tuesday when the Bears open the MASCAC schedule on the road versus the Owls of Westfield State College. Tip-off is slated for 7:30. RIC returns home to take on Little East Conference rival Eastern Connecticut State University on Saturday afternoon at 3 o’clock.
Newspaper Box Score Rhode Island College vs Bridgewater State College 01/05/06 6:00 PM at Bridgewater, MA (Tinsley Center) BRIDGEWATER STATE COLLEGE 86, RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE 80 RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE (6-4) Davon Yarbrough 8-14 1-2 21; Kinsey Durgin 6-14 3-4 18; Cameron Stewart 4-5 2-2 13; Kaseem Johnson 5-13 0-0 10; Benjy Nichols 2-4 1-2 5; Kamari Williams 1-9 2-2 4; Tirrell Hill 1-6 1-2 3; John Weir 1-2 0-0 2; Tony Pierlioni 1-1 0-0 2; Kevin Payette 1-6 0-0 2. Totals 30-74 10-14 80. BRIDGEWATER STATE COLLEGE (6-4) Derek Thompson 7-10 5-7 19; Tom Cuddihy 7-22 0-2 18; Cliff Furtado 6-11 1-3 16; Matt Schnider 3-7 4-4 10; Tyler Lang 5-8 0-0 10; Adam Rose 4-10 0-0 9; David Rukstalis 1-2 0-0 2; Roland Millien 1-2 0-0 2; Jesse Teixeira 0-0 0-0 0; Ryan Devereaux 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 34-73 10-16 86. Rhode Island College.......... 50 30 - 80 Bridgewater State College..... 33 53 - 86 3-point goals-Rhode Island College 10-25 (Davon Yarbrough 4-6; Cameron Stewart 3-4; Kinsey Durgin 3-7; Kamari Williams 0-4; Tirrell Hill 0-2; Kevin Payette 0-1; Kaseem Johnson 0-1), Bridgewater State College 8-25 (Tom Cuddihy 4-15; Cliff Furtado 3-6; Adam Rose 1-3; Tyler Lang 0-1). Fouled out--Rhode Island College None, Bridgewater State College-None. Rebounds-Rhode Island College 44 (Kinsey Durgin 11), Bridgewater State College 45 (Derek Thompson 10). Assists-Rhode Island College 15 (Kamari Williams 5), Bridgewater State College 26 (Matt Schnider 8). Total fouls-Rhode Island College 17, Bridgewater State College 13. A-350