January 6, 2007

BRYANT MEN UPSET #20 SAINT ROSE 72-71 BEHIND WRIGHT'S 18POINTS AND 9 REBOUNDS

Jerrann Wright scored 18 points on 7 of 9 shooting in Bryant's 72-71 upset win over No. 20 Saint Rose Saturday at the Chace Athletic Center.

SMITHFIELD, RI - Sophomore forward Jerrann Wright (Cincinnati, OH) scored 18 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead the Bryant University men's basketball team to a 72-71 upset win over visiting Saint Rose Saturday afternoon at the Chace Athletic Center. 

Bryant (8-5, 6-4 NE-10) let a 14-point second half lead slip away as the visiting Golden Knights used a strong inside game and a big run midway through the second half to tie the game 59-59 on Jermaine Clark's (10 points) putback from a miss with 7:20 left. 

Two free throws and a basket by Mike DePaoli capped an 18-3 Saint Rose run as the Golden Knights led 63-59 with just under five minutes remaining. 

The Bulldogs would respond, as Dan Hammond (Brunswick, Maine) blew past Saint Rose forward Evan Lane for a lay-up to halt the run.  Minutes later, a  short pull-up jumper just outside the paint by Nate Sudlow (Brooklyn, NY) pulled Bryant back to within a point, 68-67, Hammond came up big, hitting a three-pointer from the left side to give the Bulldogs a 70-68 lead with 1:10 remaining.

Saint Rose (12-3, 8-2), which saw its six-game win streak come to an end, would pull back in front by a point, 71-70 on two free throws from Clark with 44 seconds left.  On Bryant's ensuing possession, Sudlow found a seam against the Golden Knight defense, driving past DePaoli for a layup inside to make it 72-71 with 25 seconds left.

Saint Rose would have one last chance with 9.1 seconds left, but the Golden Knights could not get the ball inbounds under their own basket and were whistled for a five-second.

Bryant, which scored a season-high 43 points in the first half in taking a 43-32 lead into the locker room at the half, shot 45.5 percent from the floor and out-rebounded the Golden Knights, 38 to 29. 

The Bulldogs made 11 of 23 three-point attempts - one shy of a season-high - and made eight  in the first half.  Saint Rose was led by Clayton Longmire who matched his season average with 17 points while Steve Dagostino had 14. 

Wright dominated inside, making 7 of 9 from the floor and made 4 of 6 from the free throw line.  Bryant will travel to Assumption College on Tuesday night (7:30 p.m.) before hosting Pace University next Thursday (Jan. 11) in a game that will be broadcast on Cox Sports Channel 3.