Bryant Men's Basketball Opens Exhibition Season Wednesday at Syracuse
Men's Basketball Travels to Syracuse Wednesday Night
SMITHFIELD, RI - The Bryant University men's basketball team will play the first of two exhibition games against BIG EAST Conference foes starting Wednesday night when the Bulldogs visit the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, NY to face the Syracuse Orangemen at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast live online at http://www.suathletics.com/.
BULLDOG UPDATE
This will be the first meeting with Syracuse for the
Bulldogs. Bryant, under the direction of sixth-year coach Max
Good, returns four starters from last year's team that went 21-10
and reached the Division II NCAA tournament for the third
consecutive year. However, after reaching the NCAA
Championship game in 2005 where the Bulldogs fell to Virginia Union
by five points in the final, last year's squad fell in the first
round to UMass Lowell. This will be the fifth Division I
opponent for Bryant in the past three seasons. In 2004,
Bryant visited Maryland (100-85 L) and UConn (90-65 L) and in 2005
played at UNLV (81-63 L) and UConn (109-62 L).
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
Sixth-year coach Max Good (right) will have to find a replacement
for the vacancy left behind by the graduation of John Williams.
Williams, an all-American and last year's conference co-player of
the year, averaged 20.3 points per game and made 115 three-point
field goals in leading the Bulldogs to their third-straight NCAA
playoff appearance. This year, the Bulldogs will look to
guard Chris Burns (11.9 ppg) and forward Dan Hammond (6.3 ppg) to
pick up the scoring from where Williams' left off. Burns, who
was a redshirt freshman at Providence College in 2002-03, gives the
team good quickness around the perimeter and scoring touch.
Hammond will help give the team the physical presence needed as
well as contribute on the offensive end. Bryant will be
bolstered by the return of forwards Jerrann Wright and Nick Pontes
down low. The two return for the second seasons at Bryant
after earning NE-10 All-Rookie Honors in 2005. Wright
averaged 6.9 ppg with 4.1 rebounds per game. Pontes, the
Massachusetts Gatorade Player of the Year, returns after averaging
7.4 ppg and 4.1 boards a game as a
freshman.
BRYANT VS. DIVISION I TEAMS SINCE 2004
Nov. 5, 2004 - at Maryland 85-100
L Bryant led 48-46 at halftime
Nov. 11, 2004 - at UConn 65-90 L Just 7
three's vs.defending champs
Nov. 3, 2005 - at UConn 62-109 L Burns
15 points
Nov. 12, 2005 - at UNLV 63-81 L Burns 13
points
ABOUT THE BRYANT UNIVERSITY
Bryant University, located in Smithfield,RI (7 miles NW of
Providence), is a Division II school with an an enrollment of 3,000
... Athletic Director Dan Gavitt stepped down in August of
2005 to become Associate Commissioner at the BIG EAST Conference
... Bryant won two Northeast-10 Conference Presidents' Cup trophies
given to the top overall athletic program among 15 member
institutions ... Bryant was the longtime preseason home of the New
England Patriots before the team moved to Gillette Stadium in
2003.
