BULLDOGS HEADED TO FINAL FOUR FOLLOWING HISTORIC WIN
Bryant Headed to Final Four Following 84-69 Win Over Mount Olive
Box Score
GRAND FORKS, N.D. – Junior guard John Williams (Springfield, Mass.) scored a game-high 27 points and Mario Correia (Brockton, Mass.) added 26 to lead the Bryant University men’s basketball team into the NCAA Division II Final Four with an 84-69 win over Mount Olive (N.C.) in the quarterfinals here Wednesday. 
Bryant, making its’ first-ever trip to the NCAA Elite Eight after winning the Northeast Regional Championship last week, become the first team from the Northeast Region to come away with a win in the Elite Eight in seven years. Bryant is the first Northeast-10 Conference team to win a game at the Elite Eight since Assumption in 1975. (Southern N.H. was a member of the NECC before joining the NE-10).
Bryant (24-8) started strong against Mount Olive, the champions out of the East Region. The Bulldogs held leads of 10-1 and 18-10 early as early turnovers by the Trojans led to several Bryant buckets in transition.
A jumper by John Williams gave Bryant a 22-18 advantage with 10:21 left in the first half, but Mount Olive started to heat up offensively. Coming into the game averaging 85.9 points per game, the Trojans entered the tournament with one of the best offenses in the country.
Elton Coffield drained a three from the left side to trim the Bryant lead down to one and after a missed three-point attempt by Williams, the Trojans took their first lead of the game on a layup underneath by Coffield to make it 25-24 with 6:32 left to play.
It marked the first time in the postseason that the Bulldogs had trailed in four NCAA tournament games. 
Chris Burns would answer at the other end for Bryant but the Trojans would close out the half on a 14-7 run and head into the locker room leading 39-33.
In the second half, the Bulldogs fell behind early 41-35 but a three from Correia followed by a Mike Williams dunk helped pull the Bulldogs to within a basket at 46-44 with 15:14 left to play. The jam helped spark the Bulldogs who were still a bit sluggish, but following Williams’ dunk, the Bulldogs would start to steal back a little momentum.
A three by Mount Olive’s Young from the left side was quickly answered by Correia with a three from the top of the key and the Bulldogs were quickly back in the game.
Following a missed jumper by Coffield, Burns grabbed the rebound in the paint and went coast to coast, scoring the go-ahead basket and was fouled on the play, drawing cheers from the Bulldog supporters with 13:25 left.
Burns would hit the ensuing free throw and Bryant would not trail again in the game. The Trojans would close to within a point but the Bulldogs seemed to always have an answer as John Williams and Burns drilled two consecutive three’s to give the Bulldogs a comfortable lead and never looked back.
“These guys played much smarter in the second half,” said Bryant coach Max Good. “I think Mount Olive has a terrific basketball team and we were a bit tentative on offense in the first half but played much better in the second half.”
Bryant finished the game shooing 50 percent from the floor – including a sizzling 66.7 percent in the second half. Mike Williams had eight points and eight rebounds and continued to dominate the inside in the playoffs. After recording 19 blocks in the regional championship, the 6-foot-11 senior had six more blocks against Mount Olive Wednesday.
The 24 wins this season by the Bulldogs sets a new school record for wins in a season.
The Bulldogs will face Tarelton State of Texas in the national semifinals.
