A Look Back at the Magical Year of 2005

2004-05:  A Year To Remember For Bryant Men's Basketball

    It was a magical and memorable year for Bryant University and most notably of the accomplishments was its' men's basketball team’s unforgettable run through the NCAA tournament last March.

   Picked fourth in the preseason conference poll and selected sixth of eight teams to the NCAA Regional Tournament, the Bulldogs got hot at just the right moment and rode the momentum to its first regional championship and the brink of the school's first national championship.

   From the start of the season, there was a sense around campus that the 2004-05 season might just be just a little different from recent years.  Behind the stellar play of standout guard John Williams and seniors Mike Williams and Mario Correia, coach Max Good's Bulldogs gave the University of Maryland a run for its money in a preseason exhibition and put together a string of 11-straight wins in the month of January that helped Bryant position itself as a challenger in the Northeast-10 Conference. 

     Thanks to an offense that could score nearly at will and a defense that was among the best in the conference, the Bulldogs had started to peak just at the right time as March approached.

      Seeded sixth in the school's second-straight NCAA regional appearance, Bryant proceeded to knock off each of the three regional conference champions en route to the it's first-ever regional title. The Bulldogs rolled past third-seeded Adelphi, 69-48 which came into the game ranked in the top five nationally in scoring defense.  After a 76-59 rout of Bloomfield in the regional semis, all that was standing in the way of the regional title was rival and tournament host Bentley College. John Williams scored 19 of his game-high 26 points in the second half and Mike Williams had 15 point and 6 blocks as the Bulldogs won, 74-64. 

     Bryant never trailed in all three regional games. Tournament MVP John Williams (left) made 24 of 26 free throws in the regional while Mike Williams was a force in the middle, collecting 35 rebounds and 19 blocked shots in earning all-region honors.  With the win over Bentley, Bryant punched its ticket to the NCAA Elite Eight in Grand Forks, North Dakota for the first time in program history.

     Certainly considered one of the surprise teams to join the seven other regional champions, the Bulldogs weren't ready to pack its bags for the return trip back to Rhode Island.  Behind John Williams' 27 points and Correia's 26, the Bulldogs rolled past Mount Olive of North Carolina, 84-69 in the national quarterfinals to earn a spot in the Division II Final Four. 

    In the national semifinals, the Bulldogs drew a physical and talented squad from Tarleton State (Texas), but flexed their own muscles in earning a hard-fought 60-55 win to propel the Bulldogs into the national championship game.

    Bryant's run would end with a 63-58 loss to Virginia Union in the final despite 24 points from Chris Burns (top-right), but the greatest season in Bryant Basketball history will long be remembered.  A determined group of Bulldogs who simply refused to see their season end until the final game of the 2004-05 season:  The Division II Finals.