• Sat, 02/25 | Men's Basketball vs. Mount St. Mary's L, 71-62 (Final) BX | RC
  • Thu, 02/23 | Men's Basketball vs. Wagner L, 86-73 (Final) BX | RC
  • Sat, 02/18 | Men's Basketball at Saint Francis (PA) L, 76-61 (Final) BX | RC
  • Thu, 02/16 | Men's Basketball at Robert Morris L, 69-40 (Final) BX | RC
  • Sat, 02/11 | Men's Basketball vs. Sacred Heart L, 72-46 (Final) BX | RC
  • Wed, 02/08 | Men's Basketball at Sacred Heart L, 79-77 (Final) BX | RC
  • Sat, 02/04 | Men's Basketball at St. Francis (NY) L, 80-67 (Final) BX | RC
  • Thu, 02/02 | Men's Basketball at LIU Brooklyn L, 75-70 (Final) BX | RC
  • Sat, 01/28 | Men's Basketball vs. Monmouth L, 78-68 (Final) BX | RC
  • Thu, 01/26 | Men's Basketball vs. Fairleigh Dickinson L, 66-63 (Final) BX | RC
 
February 21, 2008

Men's Basketball Back in Action Tuesday at Merrimack

February 21, 2008

MEN'S BASKETBALL TRAVELS TO MERRIMACK TUESDAY

UPDATE
The Bryant men's basketball looks to rebound from last Tuesday's 63-54 loss at Stonehill College when the Bulldogs visit Merrimack, Tuesday, Feb. 26 for the regular-season finale.  The Bulldogs are currently a half game behind Stonehill for fourth place in the conference standings with one game remaining. Stonehill will host Merrimack Saturday before wrapping up the regular season Tuesday night at Saint Anselm. The team that finishes fourth will have a first round bye of the conference tournament that starts with first round action Saturday, Mar. 1.  The quarterfinals continue Monday, Mar. 3 with the semifinals Thursday, Mar. 6 and the finals scheduled for Saturday, Mar. 8.  This will be the second meeting of the year between Bryant and Merrimack with the Bulldogs riding the hot hand of guard Peter Lambert who came off the bench to help propel the Bulldogs to an 86-75 win at the Chace Athletic Center back on Jan. 2.  Lambert had a career-high 29 points and set a new school record with 9 three-point field goals. 

BULLDOG UPDATE
The Bulldogs saw their four-game win streak come to a halt last Tuesday night as Stonehill knocked off the Bulldogs, 63-54 in Easton, MA.  Bryant shot a dismal 33.9 percent from the floor in the game and made just 9 of 30 three-point attempts (30 percent).  Lambert had 15 points on 5 of 12 shooting from three-point range while Jon Ezeokoli added 13.  The Bulldogs trailed 30-21 at the half and pulled within a pair late in the second half but could not get any closer.  Cecil Gresham had 10 points on 4 of 15 shooting in 32 minutes. 

LAST GAME VS. MERRIMACK
Guard Pete Lambert scored a career-high 29 points and connected on a school record nine 3-point field goals to lead Bryant to an 86-75 win over visiting Merrimack College in Northeast-10 Conference Jan. 2 at the Chace Athletic Center.  Lambert, whose previous best outing was an 18-point night at Saint Anselm earlier this season, provided a much-needed spark off the bench as the Bulldogs needed to slow down the top scoring team in the conference in the Warriors.  Merrimack came into the game averaging a league-best 87 points per game and managed to shoot the ball well in the game.  The Warriors shot a solid 51 percent from the floor and placed three players in double figures led by freshman Darin Mency's team-best 24 points.  Darren Duncan and Micky Burtnyk added 14 and 13 respectively.  But Merrimack could not stop Lambert on this night as the junior made 10 of 17 from the floor and 9 of 16 from beyond the arc.  Senior Jon Ezeokoli  added 20 points and a career-high 10 assists as the Bulldogs  shot 45.3 percent from the floor and made all 15 free throw attempts to earn their fourth-straight win.  Cecil Gresham chipped in with 16 points and five rebounds.

LOOKING AT MERRIMACK
The Warriors have a date with Stonehill in Easton, MA before returning home to host the Bulldogs Tuesday night. The Warriors were idle Tuesday night after splitting with Franklin Pierce and Assumption last week.  Guard Micky Burtnyk was named the Northeast-10 Player of the Week Feb. 18 after averaging 26 points in two games. He had 32 in the win over Franklin Pierce and followed with 20 against Assumption.

BRYANT IN NORTH ANDOVER
Bryant's last two trips to North Andover haven't been  pleasant one as the Warriors cruised 73-53 last season and 73-57 the year before.  Bryant's last win came three years ago in 2005 when the Bulldogs won 73-49.  

LEADING SCORERS BEWARE - BULLDOGS CLAMP DOWN DEFENSIVELY
Bryant's man to man defense did the trick against Saint Michael's as the Bulldogs held forward Brian Monanahan, the leading scorer in the Northeast-10, to just one field goal and one free throw (3 pts on 1 of 15 shooting).  A week later, the Bulldogs did it against Stonehill, holding leading scorer Nick Smith (14.1 ppg ave.) scoreless and 0-for-2 from the floor.

MAX NEARING 500TH CAREER COLLEGIATE GAME COACHED
Seventh-year coach Max Good heads into Saturday's  game vs.Southern Connecticut with 130 coaching victories at Bryant, good for second all-time.  Tom Foliard is the all-time winningest coach with 174 victories from 1968 to 1978.  Tuesday's game will be his 214th coaching at Bryant and his 461st game coached - not including his time at Maine Central Institute prep -  a career that has seen him head up programs at Eastern Kentucky and UNLV along with Bryant. 

CECIL HITS HIS STRIDE
Sophomore Cecil Gresham (Bloomfield, CT) is averaging 16.5 points per game in the last 10 games. He poured in a career-best 36 points in the team's win over Saint Anselm on Jan. 30, going 13 for 17 from the floor and making 8 of 12 three-point attempts - one shy of the school record for three's made in a game of 9 held by Peter Lambert. Against Bentley on Feb. 2, Gresham had 14 points and hit a big three with 7 seconds left to put the Bulldogs up a point only to see the Falcons win at the buzzer.
 
BULLDOGS RANKED NO. 5 IN REGION AS OF FEB. 20
The Bulldogs enter the week ranked No. 5 in the NCAA Northeast Region according to the most recent poll released Feb. 20.  A total of eight teams from each of the eight regions across the country will be selected to participate for the NCAA Division II tournament.  The conference tournament champions from the three Northeast Regional conferences: NE-10, East Coast Conference (ECC), and Central Atlantic College Conference (CACC) will receive an automatic bid with the remaining five spots selected as at-large participants for the 2008 Northeast Regional. Bryant advanced to the regional final last year before falling to Bentley in the title game. 

1. Bentley (NE-10)
2. Assumption (NE-10)
3. CW Post (ECC)
4. Saint Rose (NE-10)
5. BRYANT (NE-10)
6. Philadelphia (CACC)
7. Holy Family (CACC)
8. Stonehill (NE-10)
9. Merrimack (NE-10)
10. NYIT (ECC)

BRYANT TO JOIN NORTHEAST CONFERENCE
In October, Bryant officially accepted an invitation to join the Division I Northeast Conference.  The school will begin a four-year transition to Division I and become a full member of the Northeast Conference in the fall of 2012.  This will be Bryant's final season as a member of the Division II ranks and will begin a Division I schedule in 2008-09.  Bryant will not be eligible for conference or NCAA postseason play during the four-year transition period.  The Northeast Conference includes members:  Central Connecticut, Fairleigh Dickinson, Long Island, Monmouth, Mount St. Mary's, Quinnipiac, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart, St. Francis NY, St. Francis PA, and Wagner.  

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