The win, the Bears third straight, improves BSC’s record to 10-7 overall and 4-2 in the MASCAC. Fitchburg falls to 7-11 on the season and 2-4 in conference play.
The Bears led 40-36 at the break as Thompson scored 13 of his game-high 21 points in the opening stanza. BSC shot 57.1% from the floor in the first half and 56.7% (34-for-60) for the game. The Bears trailed at one point in the second half by five points but pulled away with a 12-2 run later in the half. Senior forward Cliff Furtado (Dartmouth, MA) scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half while Rose had 11 points in the final stanza. After hitting on only one of seven three-point shots in the first half, the Bears connected on five of 11 three-point attempts after the intermission with Furtado and sophomore guard Ryan Devereaux (Peabody, MA) combining for all five made 3’s.
Devereaux finished with a season-high 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting, while senior forward David Rukstalis (Norwood, MA) added 11 points and 7 rebounds. With his 11 points, Rukstalis moved past Paul Sargent (1,200 pts) into 12th place on the Bears all-time scoring list as he now has 1,205 points in his career at BSC.
Fitchburg had four players in double figures with sophomore guard Brian Skiffington (North Adams, MA) leading the way with 15 points. Freshman forward Andrew Vayo (Waterville, ME) scored 13 points for the Falcons on 5-of-7 shooting, and senior guard Dan Koen (Auburn, MA) chipped in with 11. Junior center Nick Smith also finished with 10 points and 5 rebounds for the Falcons.
Bridgewater State is home once again on Tuesday night as the Bears take on Westfield State at 8 o’clock in a key MASCAC matchup. Fitchburg heads to Worcester on Tuesday night as the Falcons face MASCAC rival Worcester State College. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 PM
Newspaper Box Score Fitchburg State College vs Bridgewater State College 01/28/06 5:00 PM at Bridgewater, MA (Tinsley Center) BRIDGEWATER STATE COLLEGE 88, FITCHBURG STATE COLLEGE 74 FITCHBURG STATE COLLEGE 7-11 (2-4) Brian Skiffington 5-16 1-2 15; Andrew Vayo 5-7 3-4 13; Dan Koen 4-12 0-0 11; Nick Smith 5-8 0-0 10; Matt Collins 3-5 0-0 9; Albert Ortiz 4-9 0-0 8; Peter Uzoma 2-6 0-0 4; Colby Donnelly 1-2 0-0 2; Jeff Kozik 0-2 2-4 2; Joe Sabbagh 0-0 0-0 0; Mike Woods 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-67 6-10 74. BRIDGEWATER STATE COLLEGE 10-7 (4-2) Derek Thompson 7-10 7-12 21; Adam Rose 7-11 4-5 18; Cliff Furtado 6-10 0-1 15; Ryan Devereaux 5-6 0-0 12; David Rukstalis 4-7 3-3 11; Tom Cuddihy 3-9 0-0 7; Tyler Lang 1-4 0-4 2; Damian Shakespeare 1-1 0-0 2; Roland Millien 0-2 0-0 0; Jesse Teixeira 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 34-60 14-25 88. Fitchburg State College....... 36 38 - 74 Bridgewater State College..... 40 48 - 88 3-point goals-Fitchburg State College 10-25 (Brian Skiffington 4-10; Matt Collins 3-5; Dan Koen 3-8; Colby Donnelly 0-1; Jeff Kozik 0-1), Bridgewater State College 6-18 (Cliff Furtado 3-6; Ryan Devereaux 2-3; Tom Cuddihy 1-7; Tyler Lang 0-1; David Rukstalis 0-1). Fouled out--Fitchburg State College-Andrew Vayo; Nick Smith, Bridgewater State College-None. Rebounds-Fitchburg State College 33 (Peter Uzoma 9), Bridgewater State College 40 (Derek Thompson 10). Assists-Fitchburg State College 16 (Jeff Kozik 4), Bridgewater State College 23 (Tom Cuddihy 6). Total fouls-Fitchburg State College 23, Bridgewater State College 16. A-325