BRIDGEWATER, Mass. – After a sluggish first half, things got very interesting as men's basketball and Bridgewater State University went into double overtime before the host Bears were able to pull out an 83-76 win over the Beacons Thursday evening at the Adrian Tinsley Center.

THE BASICS

UMass Boston 76, Bridgewater State University 83

UMass Boston (5-7)
Bridgewater State University (4-8)

HOW IT HAPPENED

Trailing by three with just seconds remaining on the clock, sophomore guard Maurice Magras (Medford, Mass.) drained a heavily contested 3-pointer to send the game into the second overtime.  Magras had a career night for the Beacons as he finished with 24 points on 9-of-15 shooting, 4-for-9 from behind the arc. 

In the second OT, the Bears struck first with a free throw, which was quickly answered by a free throw from the Beacons to keep the score even at 67-67.  From there Bridgewater went on a quick 5-0 run to take a 72-67 lead with 2:38 left to play.

Magras would then make it a four-point game as he nailed a free throw, but with a 3-pointer by Greg Romanko the Beacons seized control of the contest with just over two minutes to play. 

Big man Sam Freeman (Boston, Mass.) dropped in a pair of free throws, but that was countered by another 5-0 run from the Bears to extend their lead to 10 with 53 ticks left on the clock.  Neil Cesar (Randolph, Mass.) and Magras would then score back-to-back lay-ups to make it a six point game.  Rocky Deandrade would then score the next three points, all at the charity stripe to all but secure the win for the Bears.  The final basket of the night was dropped in by Caleb Ezewuzie (Malden, Mass.) with three seconds left in the contest.

In the second half, the Beacons came out firing and held a solid lead over the host Bears until the closing minutes of regulation.  With less than 10 minutes to play Magras nailed a 3-pointer to make it a seven point game (39-32). 

The Beacons would maintain their lead as time continued to wind down, but with 2:18 left before the final horn, the Bears would go on an 11-2 run to cut the Beacons deficit to one (53-52).  Senior guard Quadry Allen (White Castle, La.) would make it a three point game after going 2-for-2 at the line.  On their final possession of regulation, the Bears tied the game at 55-55 with a key 3-pointer by Romanko.

In the first OT, Bridgewater would lead for most of the five minute frame, and made it a three point game with 17 seconds left thanks to a pair of free throws by Ryan Carney.  Just like the closing seconds of the second half, the Beacons would bring the ball up the floor where it landed in the hands of Magras.  Just as three players were about to converge on the sophomore guard, Magras threw the ball up where it then slammed off the glass before falling through the iron to tie the score at 66-all.

Also having a big game for the Beacons in Thursday's loss was Freeman, who finished with a strong double-double of 15 points and 16 rebounds.  Junior Dan Powers (Westwood, Mass.) also finished with a double-double, as the forward grabbed 12 rebounds, while also finishing with 13 points.

BY THE NUMBERS

• After shooting just over 29% from the field in the first half the Beacons shot a combined 46% in the second half and during the two overtime periods
• Thursday's contest marked the first double OT game between the Beacons and the Bears in 33 meetings
• UMass Boston still leads the series 17-16 all-time

WHO'S NEXT

The Beacons return to action on Saturday when they travel to Rhode Island College for a 3 p.m. conference game.