March 4, 2007

BRYANT MEN'S BASKETBALL SELECTED TO NCAA TOURNAMENT
No. 3 Seed Bulldogs To Face No. 6 Seed Adelphi Saturday at Noon in Waltham, Mass.

Bryant coach Max Good has led Bryant to its fourth-straight NCAA tournament appearance.  The Bulldogs face Adelphi in the first round on Saturday at noon.

SMITHFIELD, RI - For the fourth consecutive year, the Bryant men's basketball team is headed to the NCAA tournament.  The Bulldogs, 19-10 this season, were selected as an at-large participant by the NCAA to participate in the 2007 Division II Northeast Regional Tournament which will take place this weekend at Bentley College's Dana Center in Waltham, Mass.   The announcement was made late Sunday evening on CSTV.com. 

Bryant, the No. 3 seed of the tournament, will open play on Saturday at 12 noon against No. 6 seed Adelphi University.  The Panthers grabbed the automatic bid by winning the East Coast Conference Championship on Saturday. 

Bryant and Adelphi last met in the NCAA regional tournament back in 2005, ironically enough at the very same Dana Center where this year's tournament will be played. In fact, the game will feature a No. 3 vs. No. 6 matchup, only this time, the seeds are different as Bryant, then the No. 6 seed, upset No. 3 Adelphi, 69-48 in the first round. Bryant would roll from there, winning not only the regional championship, but advancing to the NCAA Championship game in Grand Forks, ND.

Bentley, the 2007 Northeast-10 Conference Champion, will serve as the top seed and host the regional tournament.  The Falcons bring a No. 2 national ranking into the tournament and are just one of two teams undefeated on the season at 29-0.

Ticket prices as $8.00 for adults and $3.00 for students and children. 

Eight regions consisting of eight teams make up the field of 64 for the 2007 Division II Championships.  Each regional champion will advance to the Elite Eight in Springfield, Mass. March 21-24. 

Bryant will be making its sixth appearance in the Division II tournament and the fourth-straight under head coach Max Good, now in his sixth season.  Bryant fell to UMass Lowell in the first round of last year's tournament in Easton, Mass.  

This year, the Bulldogs are led by Northeast-10 Conference First Team selection Chris Burns (Merrimack, NH) who has 105 three-point field goals and is averaging 15.5 ppg.  Junior Jon Ezeokoli (South Orange, NJ) was named to the NE-10 All-Conference Third Team with 14.8 ppg average. 

Bryant heads into the NCAA tournament winners of three of its last four games with the lone loss coming against Bentley last Thursday in the Northeast-10 Conference semifinals.

2007 NCAA Division II Northeast Regional @ Waltham, Mass.

Saturday, March 10, 2007
No. 3 Bryant (19-10) vs. No. 6 Adelphi (18-12), 12:00 pm
No. 2 Saint Rose (21-9) vs. No. 7 Pace (20-12), 2:30 pm
No. 1 Bentley (29-0) vs. No. 8 Caldwell (19-11), 6:00 pm
No. 4 Bridgeport (21-8) vs. No. 5 Philadelphia (20-9), 8:30 pm

Sunday, March 11, 2007
Bryant / Adelphi winner vs. Saint Rose/Pace winner, 5:00 pm
Bentley / Caldwell winner vs. Bridgeport / Philadelphia winner, 7:30 pm

Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Regional Championship, 7 pm