FRAMINGHAM, Mass. ---- Despite playing even with MassBay in the second half, the Massasoit men's basketball team fell into too big of a first half hole, dropping a 80-57 decision on the road last Thursday.
Massasoit (7-5, 6-3) trailed the host Buccaneers at the break, which received votes in the most recent NJCAA National Poll, as the Warriors struggled controlling the basketball, committing 18 first half turnovers.
The Warriors trailed 47-23 at intermission, despite leading in the early going of the game, 12-10.
"We actually led early on, but we made too many bad decisions in the backcourt," head coach Jim Stapleton said. "In the second half I thought we played much better, especially inside. We just fell behind by too much at the break."
In the second half, the Warriors played even basketball with the Bucs, as each team scored 33 points.
Mike Ward (Brockton) paced the Warrior offense with his usual efficient offensive production. The big man netted 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting and pulled down eight boards.
Fellow post player Connor Schaefer (Bourne) just missed a double-double, tallying nine points and 10 bards and Jovani Harper-Lopez (Randolph) chipped in with eight points.
MassBay (10-2, 8-0) featured four players in double figures, including a triple-double by Kyle Jimenez-Fox, with 11 points, 14 rebounds and 10 steals.
Colin Myers led the Bucs with 18 points, featuring six 3-pointers as MassBay shot 14 of 33 from downtown (42.4 percent) and finished with 59 team rebounds and 15 blocks.
Massasoit committed 29 turnovers in the loss.