BOX SCORE

BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – The Bridgewater State College men's basketball team won their tenth straight game as the Bears knocked off non-conference foe Bowdoin College, 68-56, this evening at the Tinsley Center in Bridgewater. The game marked the first meeting of the two teams since the first round of the 1999 NCAA Division III Tournament when the Polar Bears defeated the Bears, 68-48. Bowdoin falls to 14-8 this season while Bridgewater State (16-5) wins their tenth straight game.

Bridgewater took control of the game in the late stages of the first half as the Bears outscored the Polar Bears 18-5 over the last seven minutes. BSC got up by as many as 22 points (55-33) midway through the second half before settling for the 68-56 victory. Bowdoin had a brief 10-3 spurt late in the half, but BSC made 6 of 6 free throw attempts in the final two minutes to secure the win.

Junior center Mark Phillips was the only Polar Bear in double-figure scoring as he finished with 10 points to go along with five rebounds in just 17 minutes. Senior forward Tim Lane chipped in with nine points and six boards. Bridgewater State limited Bowdoin to just 18 points in the opening stanza as the Polar Bears shot 34.8% from the floor and turned the ball over 14 times. Bowdoin, which finished with 20 turnovers, had been averaging only 13.4 turnovers per game entering the contest.

Bridgewater connected on 15 of 27 (55.6%) field goal attempts in the first half and turned the ball over just six times. The Bears shot 50% from the floor for the game and made 13 of 15 free throw attempts.

Bowdoin will close out their regular season this weekend with a pair of key NESCAC home games. The Polar Bears will play Wesleyan on Friday before hosting Connecticut College on Saturday.