Bulldogs Take Streak Into Saturday's Showdown at Bentley
QUICKLY
Bryant takes its 11-game win streak on the road this Saturday when the Bulldogs visit #5 Bentley College at the Dana Center in Waltham, Mass. Tipoff is at 3:30 p.m. Bryant (18-6, 14-6 NE-10) is coming off a 96-64 win Wednesday night at Saint Michael’s College while Bentley (24-4, 18-2 NE-10) fell to UMass Lowell, 72-70 Wednesday in Lowell. Bentley, ranked No. 1 in the nation last week, has dropped two-straight since the No. 1 ranking, both coming on last-second shots. Bentley defeated Bryant 76-69 at the Chace Athletic Center back on Jan. 6. It was the first of three-straight losses for Bryant at the time. Since a loss to Merrimack on Jan. 11, the Bulldogs have won 11-straight. Bryant will visit Merrimack on Monday to conclude the conference regular season before the conference tourney begins next week. 
LAST TIME OUT - Bryant 96, Saint Michael’s 64
Senior swingman Mario Correia (Brockton, Mass.) continued his strong play Wednesday night in leading the Bulldogs past Saint Michael’s. Correia, the reigning NORTHEAST-10 PLAYER OF THE WEEK scored a game-high 22 points, dished out six assists to go with five steals against the Purple Knights. Correia has scored at least 20 points in four-straight games. John Williams (Springfield, Mass.) had 19 points including five three’s while Dan Hammond (Brunswick, Maine) and Mike Williams (Ellington, Conn.) - pictured - each had 16. Bryant led 51-23 at the half and shot 60.0 percent from the floor. Mike Williams made all six of his shots and had 10 rebounds plus a pair of blocks. The Bulldogs had a 42-point lead at one point.
LOOKING AT BENTLEY
Since earning a No. 1 national ranking, the Falcons have dropped two heartbreakers, falling to Southern N.H. 52-49 on the road last Saturday, and to UMass Lowell 72-70 in Lowell Wednesday night. Tim Forbes leads the Falcons with 17.8 ppg and has made 83 three-point field goals. Sean Cooke is second with 14.4 ppg and Greg Lacasse is next at 11.1 ppg. Bentley has clinched the top seed in the upcoming Northeast-10 Conference tournament and are currently the top team in the regional poll released on Wednesday. Bryant is fifth.
CORREIA EARNS WEEKLY HONOR
Senior guard Mario Correia (Brockton, Mass.) - right - was named the Northeast-10 Conference Player of the Week for Feb. 14, the first such honor for a Bryant basketball player this season. Correia had a career-high 28 points and eight rebounds in the team’s win over No. 24 Saint Anselm on Saturday. He had 21 points plus eight rebounds in the team’s win at Le Moyne on Tuesday night. For the week, Correia averaged 24.5 ppg on 20 of 40 shooting in two games, made 6 of 11 three-point attempts. In Wednesday’s game at Saint Michael’s, Correia had 22 points, 6 assists, and 5 steals.
JOHN WILLIAMS APPROACHING SCHOOL 3-POINT MARK
Junior guard John Williams (Springfield, Mass.) needs only eight 3-point field goals to break Romuald Augustin’s school single season record of 87 three’s set last season. Williams has a person-best 80 three’s this year. He is also fifth in career assists with 232 and currently has the school’s third-best single season 3FG percentage at .455.
BULLDOG BULLETS
* Mike Williams (Ellington, Conn.) is currently No. 3 all-time in career rebounds with 900
* Mike Williams is also 14th all-time with 1,192 career points and 1st with 273 blocks. Williams is the holder of Bryant’s blocks in a game (11 vs. Le Moyne), season (90 as a sophomore) and career (273).
* John Williams (Springfield, Mass.) is second in the conference in scoring (19.3 ppg)
* John Williams is also 2nd in 3FG per game with 3.48; T2nd in 3FG% at .445;
* The 11-game win streak is the best since the 1977-78 squad won 12 in-a-row. Bryant’s best win-streak last year was 8 games. The school record for consecutive wins is 22.
* John Williams’ best game this year was 33 points vs. Pace in which he hit 7 three’s
* John Williams also had 27 vs. Maryland and 21 vs. UConn in exhibitions
* Mario Correia (Brockton, Mass.) has scored 20-plus points in four-straight games
JUST THE FACTS
Some key numbers to look at during Bryant’s 11-game win streak
(since Jan. 11th loss to Merrimack):
* Bryant is outscoring opponents by an average of 16.7 points in 11 games (76.0 to 59.3)
* Bryant is shooting 48.5 percent from the floor, opponents at 38.2 percent
* Bryant has made 85 three’s (7.7 average)
* Bryant is averaging just 12.5 turnovers a game - Opponents are averaging 17.5
* Bryant has 115 steals, opponents just 68
* During the wins streak, Bryant is 5-0 at home AND 6-0 on the road.
BULLDOG BITES
Saturday’s game vs. Bentley will be the 113th game coached by Max Good at Bryant. It will also be Good’s 360th as a head coach in 13 seasons ... After posting a 12-3 record at home last season, the Bulldogs are 9-4 this year at the Chace Athletic Center ... The Bulldogs are 9-2 away from home and 7-2 on the road in conference games.
LAST YEAR
Bryant was 23-10 last year (NE-10 2-1, NCAA 2-1) and 14-8 in conference games.
This year, with two games left, Bryant is 18-6 overall, 14-6 in the NE-10.
