WOONSOCKET CALL  

Bryant, Bentley to clash again

Direct Link to Monday's Woonsocket Call article by Michael Parente 

MICHAEL PARENTE, Call Sports Writer 03/12/2007

WALTHAM, Mass. -- Max Good's not looking for the Mona Lisa. At this time of year, a sloppy finger painting is just as effective as a flawless work of art.

"I don't want to be pretty," Good said Sunday after Bryant University escaped with a 65-62 win over No. 2 seed Saint Rose in the second of the NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament at the Dana Center. "We want to be gritty and we were gritty today.

"We had to find a way. Everybody's grinding now. In the postseason, it goes up another notch because there's so much at stake. Nobody wants to lose at this time of year."

The third-seeded Bulldogs survived a scare and advanced to the Sweet 16 for the second time in three years despite committing 17 turnovers against Saint Rose's aggressive half-court press and shooting just 18 percent from 3-point range.

Bryant (21-10) will play top-seeded Bentley College in the northeast regional championship game Tuesday at 7 p.m. with an opportunity to advance to the Elite 8 in Springfield, Mass.

"We feel comfortable in this situation," said senior Chris Burns, who led the Bulldogs with 20 points and helped set up a key basket in the closing seconds. "That comes a lot from our senior leadership. We feel comfortable and we carry that out through the rest of the team to make sure they feel comfortable. This isn't going to put any pressure on us. We're used to this."

Burns teamed with Dan Hammond to put the finishing touches on Sunday's victory. The 6-foot-1 guard drove toward the basket on Bryant's final possession and drew a double team near the post. He wisely dished the ball on a crisp bounce pass along the baseline to Hammond, who hit a wide-open jumper from 10 feet out that gave the Bulldogs a 65-62 lead with 19.3 seconds remaining.

"Our rule is when you drive the baseline, you're supposed to finish," Good said. "I'm sure (Chris) was going to take it, but they stepped over and showed good help. The guy who helped was Danny's guy and Danny made a tough shot."

Hammond shot just 1-for-8 from the floor Sunday before knocking down the clincher in the closing seconds. The 6-5 senior also chipped in with five rebounds and two steals.

"Danny and I have a love-hate relationship in this game," Good said. "I told him afterward that I love him and he hates me."

Saint Rose (22-10) had one last chance to tie, but Steve Dagostino's 3-point attempt from the top of the key rimmed out and Hammond grabbed the rebound with 3.1 seconds to go.

"I thought it was down," Dagostino said. "Even when it left my hand, I usually know if it's in or not. I thought it was down."

After finishing with a career-high 36 points in Saturday's victory over Pace, Dagostino shot just 1-for-6 from the field Sunday and scored six points. Senior guard Nate Sudlow (four points, three assists, 33 minutes) did a terrific job shadowing him throughout the game.

"He just doesn't leave you," Dagostino said. "Every time I turned around, he was right there."

The Bulldogs led by 11 points with 10:40 to go before Saint Rose rallied by working the ball inside to freshman forward Malcolm Williams. Bryant committed seven fouls in the first eight minutes of the second half and 27 total, putting the Golden Knights at the free-throw line 35 times, where they hit 26 of their attempts. Likewise, the Bulldogs shot 23-for-25 from the line, including 17-for-19 in the second half.

"That's huge," Good said. "We've been shooting free throws well lately. The secret to making free throws, I guess, is getting your best free-throw shooters on the line."

Williams benefited from the contact in the paint, hitting eight of his 11 free-throw attempts and finishing with 10 points -- all in the second half. His performance helped the Golden Knights temporarily survive the loss of Will Monica, who fouled out with 3:26 left, and guard Jermaine Clark, who injured his ankle against Pace and did not play on Sunday.

"Malcolm's been our secret weapon all year long. I've just been waiting until now to use him," Saint Rose head coach Brian Beaury said. "Losing Jermaine Clark changed the dynamic of our team tonight. We needed to go someplace else with those minutes.

"We knew they were going to let us enter the ball through the post. We intended to play through our big guys knowing they were trying to take Steve out of the game. I thought we fought a good fight and were with them until the end, but we just came up short. Sometimes you eat the bear and sometimes the bear eats you."

Saint Rose took a 58-57 lead with 4:13 to go on a pair of free throws by Clayton Longmire (20 points), but Jerrann Wright answered with two free throws on the other end just 15 seconds later to put Bryant back out in front and the Bulldogs never trailed again. In addition to his assist on Hammond's clutch basket, Burns also hit a bank shot in the paint with 2:03 left that made it 63-60.

Jon Ezeokoli finished with 18 points and seven rebounds for Bryant while Wright came within one shot of a double-double with 11 rebounds and nine points. The Bulldogs will aim for their first win of the season Tuesday against the Falcons, who improved to 31-0 by beating Bridgeport and are ranked second in the nation.

"Now we get Bentley again -- on their home floor. I might get a root canal Tuesday," Good joked. "As (former wrestler) Ric Flair would say, ‘In order to be the best, you've got to beat the best.'"

Reach Michael Parente at mparente@woonsocketcall.com.