Men's Basketball
March 11, 2007
NCAA DIVISION II NORTHEAST REGIONAL SEMIFINAL
BRYANT DEFEATS SAINT ROSE 65-62 TO ADVANCE TO
NCAA NORTHEAST REGIONAL FINALS
Regional Final This Tuesday at 7 p.m.
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| Senior Chris Burns scored 20 points and Bryant made 23 of 25 free throws in a 65-62 win over Saint Rose Sunday night. With the win, Bryant advances to its third regional final in the past four years. |
WALTHAM, Mass. - For the third time in four years the Bryant University men's basketball team is headed back to the NCAA Division II Northeast Regional finals. The Bulldogs, behind 20 points from senior Chris Burns and 18 from junior Jon Ezeokoli, knocked off second-seed Saint Rose, 65-62 Sunday evening here at the Dana Center.
The win for Bryant (21-10) sets up a showdown Tuesday night with undefeated and second-ranked Bentley College. Tipoff for the Northeast Regional Championship is 7 p.m. at the Dana Center.
As for Sunday's semifinal, the third-seeded Bulldogs showed their NCAA experience and veteran poise down the stretch. Behind gritty defense and outstanding rebounding, Bryant was able to withstand a late Saint Rose rally and finds itself back in the regional finals once again.
A Nate Sudlow fast break basket with just over 10 minutes left gave the Bulldogs a 52-41 lead, but the Golden Knights would use a 17-5 run capped by a Clayton Longmire pair of free throws to give Saint Rose a 58-57 lead with 4:15 left on the clock.
Two Jerrann Wright free throws and two more from Ezeokoli put the Bulldogs back in front 61-58. Two more free throws by Longmire pulled the Golden Knights to within a point, but Burns came through with a jumper with two minutes left to push the Bryant led to 63-60.
A Bryant turnover with a minute left resulted in a layup by Saint Rose forward Shanty Robinson to make it a one-point game once again, 63-62 with 48 seconds left.
After a Bryant timeout, Burns penetrated against the Golden Knight defense and found an open Dan Hammond who calmly sank a baseline jumper with 20 seconds left.
Saint Rose would have one last chance to tie the game, but Steve Dagostino's three-point attempt with six seconds left rimmed out and Hammond was there to grab the rebound, sending the Bulldogs to Tuesday's regional championship.
Bryant, making its fourth-straight NCAA appearance, shot just 35 percent from the floor Sunday, but dominated the glass and made good on 25 free throw attempts. Bryant out-rebounded Saint Rose 42 to 28 and made 23 of 25 free throw attempts. Wright finished with 9 points and 11 rebounds while Hammond had four points and five boards in 20 minutes.
Longmire led Saint Rose (22-10) with 20 points and five rebounds. Bryant did a good job defensively on the Northeast-10 Conference Player of the Year Steve Dagostino. The junior guard came into the game averaging 17.4 ppg but was held to just six on 1 of 6 shooting in 36 minutes.
The NCAA Northeast Regional Championship will take place on Tuesday evening at 7 p.m.
POST GAME NOTES ...
* Bryant is now 9-7 in six NCAA appearances and 9-3 under coach Max Good.
* Bryant is now 3-0 in NCAA regional semifinals games. Bryant's last trip to the NCAA regional finals was in 2005. Bryant defeated Bentley that year and later advanced to the NCAA Championship game.
* Bryant (21-10) has matched last year's record and have recorded four-straight 20-win seasons.
* The 2007 NCAA Division II Elite Eight will take place March 20-23 in Springfield, Mass. The Northeast Regional winner will face the champions of the North Central Region in the national quarterfinals.
