Men's Basketball Travels to Stonehill Thursday Night For Northeast-10 Semifinals
BRYANT MEN TRAVEL TO STONEHILL THURSDAY NIGHT
Northeast-10 Conference Semifinals
#6 Bryant (21-8) at #2 Stonehill (22-5) –
Merkert Gym (7 pm)
Radio: http://www.northeast10.org
BULLDOG UPDATE
The Bryant men's basketball team (21-8) visits Stonehill
College (22-5) Thursday night for a Northeast-10 Conference
Tournament semifinal game with the winner to advance to Saturday's
conference championship … The sixth-seeded Bulldogs are
coming off a 63-61 win over #3 UMass Lowell Monday night as
sophomore Jon Ezeokoli netted a career-high 24 points to pace the
Bulldogs … The Skyhawks, seeded No. 2 in the tournament,
defeated Southern N.H., 70-67 Monday night. Stonehill swept
both regular-season meetings with Bryant, winning 63-51 in Easton,
Mass back on Dec. 10 and 77-63 in Smithfield on Jan. 7.
Bryant is 8-5 on the road this season and Stonehill is 13-2 at
home. This is Bryant's fifth appearance in the conference
semifinals since 1980, and the second time in three years Bryant
has reached the semifinals of the NE-10 tournament. In 2004,
the Bulldogs fell to UMass Lowell in the semifinals and were
knocked out in the quarterfinals at Saint Anselm last year. Bryant
has twice advanced to the conference championship game, falling to
AIC in the finals in 1994 and to Le Moyne in 1997.
Bryant is 2-3 in NE-10 semifinal play and 0-2 in conference
championship appearances … In Monday's win, Bryant set a new
school record with its 275th three-pointer this season …
Williams needs two points Thursday to move into 4th all-time in
scoring at Bryant.
SCOUTING STONEHILL|
Stonehill, ranked #15 this week and winners of
five-straight and 8 of its last 9, comes into Thursday's game fresh
off a thrilling 70-67 win over Southern N.H. Monday night as Chris
Kraus drained a three-pointer as time expired to lift the hosts to
the victory. Kraus finished with 18 in the game and stands
third in scoring this year with 10.9 ppg behind Marquis
Taylor's 15.9 ppg scoring average and Sean Nelson's 13.4 ppg
average.
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 316 career three-pointers, breaking the school record of 295 held by Jason Bennett. He has 108 three's this season. He is closing in on his school record of 119 threes in a season set last year.
- The Bulldogs are 8-5 on the road this season, 12-3 at home, and 1-0 on neutral courts
- Bryant is SECOND in the Northeast-10 in scoring with 75.9 ppg
- Bryant LEADS the conference with a .390 three-point field percentage (275-706)
- Bryant has made the most three's this year among conference teams with a school-record (275)
- The previous school record for three's in a year is 272 set by last year's squad
- Bryant is RANKED 8TH NATIONALLY with 9.4 three's a game (prior to Mon.)
- John Williams is ranked No. 9 nationally with a 45.3 three-point field goal % (prior to Mon.)
- Williams is also 6th nationally with a 3.8 three's per game average (prior to Mon.)
- Williams is ranked No. 9 nationally with a 88.8 free throw percentage (prior to Mon.)
BULLDOGS NO. 4 IN NCAA NORTHEAST
After two consecutive weeks ranked No. 4, and a brief one week
appearance at No. 2 in the NCAA Northeast Regional Poll (Feb. 22).
The Bulldogs are ranked No. 4 in this week's poll released March
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).
The last poll will be announced on Wed., Mar. 1 and the
NCAA selection will take place on Sunday, Mar. 5.
Stonehill is ranked No. 1 in this week's regional
poll.
NCAA Regional Poll – Mar. 1
Team (Conference) – Bryant results head
to head
1. Stonehill (NE-10) – 51-63 L, 63-77 L
2. Bentley (NE-10) - 77-63 W, 88-78 W (2ot)
3. Saint Anselm (NE-10) – 87-80 W
4. BRYANT (NE-10)
5. Adelphi (NYCAC) – 70-62 W
6. UMass Lowell (NE-10) – 82-66 W, 63-61 W
7. Bridgeport (NYCAC) – 78-76 W
8. Queens (NYCAC) - DNP
9. Saint Rose (NE-10) – 64-62 L, 77-52 L
10. Bloomfield (CACC) – 102-78 W
GOOD AND THE BULLDOGS HONORED BY R.I. SPORTWRITERS
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 were
honored along with the other winners at the organization's 60th
annual Sports Awards Banquet on Sunday, Feb. 19.
WILLIAMS RANKED IN TOP-10 NATIONALLY IN THREE
CATEGORIES
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 5th all-time at Bryant with 1,698career points and FIRST
with 316 career three's. This season, he has been named NE-10
Player of the Week three times (Nov. 21, Jan. 30, Feb. 20) and to
the NE-10 Honor Roll four times (Dec. 5, Jan. 9, Feb. 6, Feb. 13).
He is currently ranked No. 9 nationally with a 45.3 percent
three-point field goal percentage, No. 9 nationally with a 88.8
free throw percentage, and No. 6 nationally with a 3.8 three-point
field goals per game average.
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. John Williams (2002-06)
1,714
6. Gregg Cooper (1982-86)
1,651
7. Noel Watson (1993-97)
1,554
8. David Burrows (1990-94)
1,499
