Men's Basketball Looks to Get Back On Track Tuesday vs. Franklin Pierce

Bryant Basketball

February 5, 2007

BULLDOGS HOST FRANKLIN PIERCE TUESDAY NIGHT AT 7:30 P.M.
Listen Live /  View The Game at NE10.tv / Live Stats

UPDATE

Bryant (14-7, 11-6 NE-10) looks to rebound from a 78-76 loss to third-ranked Bentley College last Saturday when the Bulldogs host the Ravens of Franklin Pierce College Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m.  Franklin Pierce upset the Bulldogs 71-69 earlier this season in Rindge, NH.  The Ravens come into Tuesday's game 11-11 overall and 9-9 in the Northeast-10, winning just twice in their last six outings.  Following Tuesday's game, Bryant will hit the road for a four-game road trip through AIC, C.W. Post, Saint Michael's, and Southern Connecticut before hosting Merrimack in the regular-season finale Feb. 20. 

STORY LINES  
* Chris Burns (left) was ranked 10th nationally last week with 3.7 three-point field goals per game average. The senior has 77 three's this season.
*  Bryant is 10-1 at home this year
* The Bulldogs were 7-2 in the month of January and have won 9 of their last 12. 
* Bryant has two back-to-back games for the first time this season.
* Bryant had a 17-point second half lead slip away against Bentley Saturday afternoon as the Falcons closed the game outscoring Bryant 26-4 to pull out the incredible win and stay undefeated.
* Saturday's game vs. Bentley drew a sellout crowd of 2,660.  The largest crowd ever to see a basketball game at Bryant and the largest since 2,000 turned out for last year's epic double-overtime thriller against Bentley. 
* Bryant is currently tied for third overall in the Northeast-10 Conference standings with Pace at 11-6.  Bentley is first at 17-0 followed by Saint Rose at 14-4. 

NEXT UP
Following Tuesday's game with Franklin Pierce, Bryant will travel to AIC on Saturday, a team the Bulldogs defeated 72-68 at home back on Nov. 18 and will finish the week with a non-conference game this Sunday at C.W. Post (3:30 p.m.).  

BULLDOGS CRACK NATIONAL RANKINGS
The Bulldogs received good news earlier last week by cracking the NABC Coaches Poll Top-25.  The Bulldogs were No. 25 for the week of Jan. 28 and ranked for the first time since ending the 2004-05 season at No. 25 (despite finishing as the NCAA runner-up). 

BULLDOGS REMAIN NO. 2 IN REGIONAL POLL

The Bryant men's basketball team stayed the course at No. 2 in the NCAA Northeast Region for the second consecutive week.  Eight teams are selected for the NCAA Regional Tournament with the three regional conference champions earning an automatic bid. 

WINNING WHEN IT MATTERS MOST
Max Good's Bulldogs have found success in the winter months leading up to conference and NCAA playoff time.  The Bulldogs, who have advanced to three-straight NCAA Championships, were 7-2 in the month of January.  Since the 2003-04 season, Bryant has a 27-13 record in the month of January and 18-7 record in the month of February.  Last year, Bryant was 8-1 in February. 

Since 2003-04:
Record in January -                27-13
Record in February -              18-7

SENIORS HAVE .704 WINNING PERCENTAGE
Bryant's senior class of Chris Burns (Merrimack, NH), Dan Hammond (Brunswick, Maine), Nate Sudlow (Brooklyn, NY) have been involved in more than 80 wins during their four year careers.  The trio bring a combined record of 83-36 (.703) into Tuesday's game vs. Franklin Pierce.

GRESHAMGOES FOR CAREER-BEST 17 VS. SNHU
Freshman Cecil Gresham (Bloomfield, CT) scored a career-high 17 points on 6 of 12 shooting from the floor in 38 minutes of action vs. Southern NH on Jan. 17.  Gresham's previous best was 12 vs. Franklin Pierce.

31 POINTS AND 8 THREE'S .... TWICE IN A ROW
Chris Burns (Merrimack, NH) found a groove two weeks ago in leading Bryant past Pace and Stonehill at home.  The senior had a career-high 31 points and school record tying eight 3-pointers vs. Pace on Jan. 11 in a game broadcast on Cox Sports Television.  Remarkably, he matched those numbers again two nights later with 31 and 8 trey's vs. Stonehill.   

NORTHEAST-10 PRESEASON POLL
The Bryant University men's basketball team has been selected to finish second in the Northeast-10 Conference in 2006-07 following a vote from the conference's head coaches.  After claiming a share of the Northeast-10 regular season title last season, the Falcons of Bentley College are favored to finish first again this year as voted by the men's basketball coaches. Overall, the Falcons received 201 votes to put them on the top of the preseason coaches' poll. Bentley tied Bryant University with six first place votes in the poll. However, the Falcons edged the Bulldogs, who finished second in the ranking with 183 total points. The College of Saint Rose followed in third place with 182 points and claimed two first place votes, while Southern New Hampshire University (169) and Pace University (158) rounded out the top five respectively.

WINNING WAYS
Bryant has posted three-straight 20-win seasons in five seasons under Max Good. The Bulldogs have qualified for three-straight NCAA tournaments, going 23-10 in 2003-04 while following with a 25-9 campaign in 2004-05, reaching the NCAA Division II Championship game in March of '05. Last year, Bryant went 21-10.

QUICK LOOK AT THE BULLDOGS
The Bulldogs enter the season picked to finish second overall in the preseason Northeast-10 Conference coaches poll - the highest a Bryant team has been selected in the preseason poll.  The Bulldogs opened the year with exhibition games at Syracuse (86-92 L) and UConn (45-70) and followed with an 85-63 loss at Philadelphia to open the season.  The team rallied back to win two at home, defeating AIC in a non-conference affair and Saint Anselm.  After falling to Franklin Pierce (for the second-straight season in Rindge, NH), the Bulldogs bounced back with a solid 62-48 win over Assumption at home on Nov. 29 and followed that with 69-66 win at UMass Lowell on Jon Ezeokoli's three-pointer with two seconds remaining.  The streak would come to an end Dec. 5 with a 61-49 loss at seventh-ranked and preseason conference favorite Bentley.  After Jan. 3 loss at Merrimack, the Bulldogs have reeled off seven-straight wins, knocking off #20 Saint Rose, Assumption, Pace, Stonehill, So. NH,  Le Moyne and UMass Lowell before falling at Saint Anselm Jan. 31 (71-70).

THE COACH
Head Coach Max Good enters his sixth season at the helm of the Bryant basketball team and is closing in on win No. 100 at Bryant University.  During his five seasons, Good has led the Bulldogs to three-straight 20-win seasons and three consecutive trips to the NCAA trip - highlighted by a trip to the national championship game in March of 2005 where the Bulldogs fell to Virginia Union by five.  Good has a record of 107-69 while at Bryant and 216-207 during 15 seasons as a head coach, having previously coached at UNLV and Eastern Kentucky. 

Bryant's Coaching Victories

1. Tom Foliard      174          (1968-78, 174-88)

2. Leon Drury        126          (1978-89, 126-182)                

3. Ed Reilly             109          (1989-01, 109-209)

4. Max Good         107          (2001-present, 107-69)

THE COACHING STAFF
Deshon Gaither and Dwayne Pina return for their second seasons at Bryant University in 2006-07. Gaither came to Bryant from Charlotte, North Carolina where he was an assistant with the A.B.A.'s Charlotte Thunder as well as an advance scout for the N.B.A.'s Charlotte Bobcats. Pina, a 2001 graduate of Boston College, was a walk-on in 1997 and earned himself a scholarship with the Eagles, playing 78 total games for B.C. In 1998-98, Pina started all 27 games for B.C. and ranked seventh in the BIG EAST with 4.5 assists per game.  

MEET THE FRESHMEN
The Bulldogs have three recruited freshmen on the roster this season plus two additional walk-ons.  Cecil Gresham (Bloomfield, Conn.) is a 6-foot-5 forward who is coming off a strong prep season at Maine Central Institute ... Guard Ray Witkos (Easthampton, Mass.) scored 1,578 career points at Holyoke Catholic H.S. and was a co-recipient of the Western Mass. Division II Player of the Year award ... Anthony Thomas (Boston, Mass.) joined the Bulldogs at Franklin Pierce after playing wide receiver for the Bryant football team this fall. Forward Dana Mauro (Wethersfield, Conn.) left the team in January but will remain enrolled in school.