Basketball Visits Southern N.H. Saturday

BULLDOG UPDATE
Winners of 3 of its last 4, and 5 of 7 games, the Bryant men's basketball team (14-7, 9-7 NE-10) travels to Manchester, NH for a key Northeast-10 Conference game at Southern New Hampshire University (15-7, 11-6 NE-10) Saturday afternoon ... Tipoff is at 3:30 pm … Bryant is currently 8th in the Northeast-10 while Southern N.H. is in seventh-place … The Bulldogs are coming off a big, 82-66 win over UMass Lowell on Wednesday night in Smithfield, RI, a game that saw senior all-American guard John Williams (Springfield, Mass.) score a season-best 31 points and freshman center Nick Pontes (New Bedford, Mass.) came off the bench to score a career-high 21 points and grab 10 rebounds to earn the win … Williams has been on a tear as of late.  Since scoring just three points in a loss to Saint Rose on Jan. 21, Williams has averaged 25 points in the last four games, draining 24 three-pointers and going 14-for-14 from the free throw line … Bryant is currently ranked No. 8 in this week's NCAA Northeast Regional rankings, Southern N.H. is 6th … Bryant junior guard Chris Burns (Merrimack, NH) returns to the Granite State this weekend … He transferred to Bryant from Providence in 2003 … This year, Burns has equaled his personal season-best with 47 three-pointers.

NEXT UP FOR BRYANT: 
After Saturday's game at Southern N.H, the Bulldogs will be home for four of its last five regular season games, starting Tuesday when Le Moyne pays a visit to the Chace Athletic Center.  Bryant's only other road trip will be next Saturday (Feb.11) at Saint Anselm.

THURSDAY'S WIN OVER SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT
John Williams (Springfield, Mass.) scored a season-high 31 points as Bryant outscored UMass Lowell 18-4 during a 6:38 span in the second half in earning an 82-66 upset of the conference-leading River Hawks Wednesday at the Chace Athletic Center.  Bulldog freshman Center Nick Pontes (New Bedford, MA) scored a career-high 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Bryant.  UMass Lowell (16-6, 12-5 Northeast-10) entered the game ranked No. 2 in the NCAA Northeast Region and got a strong effort from senior standout Stacey Morange who scored a game-high 36 points on 15 of 20 shooting from the floor.  Bryant would use a strong second-half surge to pick up the key win as the Bulldogs drained 11 three-pointers on the night (11 of 27) and shot 48.4 percent for the game. Leading 43-36 at the half, Bryant would watch the River Hawks pull to within 47-46 after an inside basket by Moragne, but Chris Burns (Merrimack, NH) would hit back-to-back three-pointers to keep the Bulldogs in front. Bryant (14-7, 9-7 NE-10) took a 63-58 lead after a Pontes basket in the lane, sparking an 18-4 run that would put the game away.  Williams was 9-for-20 from the floor including 6 for 12 from three-point range.  Dan Hammond (Brunswick, ME) had 10 points and five rebounds while Jon Ezeokoli (South Orange, NJ) added 10 rebounds and 7 assists. Pontes, whose previous high was 18 against Bloomfield earlier this season, had 15 points at the half and finished the game missing just two shots from the floor, going 10 for 12  in 19 minutes of action. 

BULLDOG NOTABLES ….

• Bryant set a school record with 25 wins last year, becoming the first Northeast-10 Conference team to reach the NCAA Championship game (Bryant fell to Virginia Union, 63-58).
• John Williams has 282 career three-pointers and needs 14 to break the school record of 295 held by Jason Bennett. 
• The Bulldogs are 5-5 on the road this season, 8-2 at home, and 1-0 on neutral courts
• Bryant is leading the Northeast-10 in scoring with 76.8 ppg, Southern NH is 4th (75.8)
• Bryant and Southern NH are 11th and 12th respectively in scoring defense in league
• Bryant leads the conference with a .400 three-point field percentage (198-495)
• Bryant has made the most three's this year among conference teams (198)
• Bryant is RANKED 10TH NATIONALLY with 9.4 three's a game
• John Williams is ranked No. 6 nationally with a 47.6 three-point field goal percentage
• Williams is also 11th nationally with a 3.4  three's per game average
• Williams is also 23rd nationally with an 86.8 free throw percentage

Words Unlimited, the statewide organization of sports writers, sportscasters, and publicists announced in early January that Max Good has been named the 2005 Male Coach of the Year and the 2004-05 men's basketball team's drive to the NCAA National Champion as the Story of the Year.  Good and the team will be honored along with the other winners at the organization's 60th annual Sports Awards Banquet on Sunday, Feb. 19. 

BULLDOGS RANKED NO. 8 IN THE NCAA NORTHEAST
The Bryant men's basketball team enters the week ranked No. 8 in the NCAA Northeast Regional Poll, released on Feb. 1.  Eight teams are selected to the NCAA Regional, with the NE-10, NYCAC, and CACC Conferences awarded an automatic bid for its conference champion.  Bryant was ranked No. 6 in last year's final regional poll and captured its first regional championship with wins over each of the three regional conference champions (Adelphi, Bloomfield, Bentley).

NCAA Regional Poll – Feb. 1
Team (Conference) – Bryant results head to head
1. Saint Anselm (NE-10) - DNP
2. UMass Lowell (NE-10) – 82-66 W
3. Saint Rose (NE-10) – 64-62 L, 77-52 L
4. Bentley (NE-10) -  77-63 W
5. Stonehill (NE-10) – 51-63 L, 63-77 L
6. Southern N.H. (NE-10) - DNP
7. Queens (NYCAC) - DNP
8. BRYANT (NE-10)
9. Adelphi (NYCAC) – 70-62 W
10. Philadelphia (NE-10)  - DNP

THREE OF KIND FROM THREE:
The Bulldogs have found success from the outside this season, with John Williams, Chris Burns, and Jon Ezeokoli accounting for 80 percent of Bryant's three's this year, making 158 of Bryant's 198 three-pointers.  Williams leads the Bulldogs with 74 treys.

SENIOR JOHN WILLIAMS STARTING TO HIT HIS GROOVE
Senior guard John Williams has continued his strong shooting in leading the Bulldogs in scoring this season.  The Springfield, MA native was a first team all-conference selection last season and earned MVP honors of the NCAA Regional Championship. In addition, he was named all-region after setting a school record with 119 three's on the year.  Invited to the prestigious Portsmouth Basketball Camp in Virginia, Williams is currently 7th all-time at Bryant with 1,530 career points and second with 282 career three's.  This season, he has been named NE-10 Player of the Week twice (Nov. 21, Jan. 30) and to the NE-10 Honor Roll twice (Dec. 5, Jan. 9).

NOT A BAD LINE IN THE LAST FOUR
Here's Williams line in the last four outings for the Bulldogs:
32-67 FG (.478)   /  24-43 3FG  (.558)   /    14-14 FT  (100.0)  / 17  assists, 11 steals, 25.5 ppg

Bryant's All-Time Career Scoring Leaders

            1. Tom Smile (1964-67)                       2,390

            2. Ernie DeWitt (1977-81)                   2,239

            3. Dave Sorafine (1973-76)                  1,854

            4. Paul Berlo (1979-83)                       1,715

            5. Gregg Cooper (1982-86)                 1,651

            6. Noel Watson (1993-97)                   1,554             7. John Williams (2002-06)                1,530 

            8.  David Burrows (1990-94)               1,499

  All-Time Career Three-point Leaders

            1. Jason Bennett (1997-00)                  295

            2. John Williams (2002-06)                  282 (13 to tie)

           PLAYER NOTABLES:

 * Junior guard Chris Burns (Merrimack, NH) is currently third on the team in scoring and has made 47 three-pointers this season, equaling a career-best for three's in a season. The CBS Chevrolet Player of the Game in the NCAA Championship game last year has been one of the team's top perimeter defenders as well.  Against Bentley on Jan. 5, Burns held high-scoring Sean Cooke to just 5 points on 2 of 7 shooting. Burns had a career-high 29 points against Bridgeport back on Nov. 19 and had 22 at Assumption on Jan. 2.  He was a red-shirt freshman at Providence College during the 2002-03 season.

 * Freshman Nick Pontes (New Bedford, MA) is currently averaging 19 minutes per game and scoring 7.9 ppg in his first year at Bryant. He scored a career-best 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds off the bench in Bryant's win over UMass Lowell on Feb. 1.  Back in December, the freshman averaged 12.7 ppg and 5.7 rebounds per game in leading Bryant to three wins during the holiday Dec. 28-29, earning him Northeast-10 Conference Freshman of the Week honors.  Pontes scored 18 points on 8 of 9 shooting from the floor, and grabbed five rebounds in Bryant’s win over Bloomfield.

* Freshman Jarrenn Wright (Cincinnati, OH) has developed quickly into one of the team's best inside players this season.  He has started in the team's last seven games dating back to Jan. 14 at Assumption where he responded with his first double-double of the year, 12 pts and 10 rebs vs. the Greyhounds.    He is averaging just over 16 minutes a game.