January 2, 2008
CUMBERLAND'S PETE LAMBERT NETS CAREER-HIGH 29 IN BRYANT'S 86-75 WIN OVER MERRIMACK
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| Junior Pete Lambert of Cumberland, RI set a new school record with 9 three-pointers in Wednesday's win over Merrimack. www.dspics.com |
SMITHFIELD, R.I. - Guard Pete Lambert (Cumberland, RI) scored a career-high 29 points and connected on a school record nine 3-point field goals to lead the Bryant University men's basketball team to an 86-75 win over visiting Merrimack College in Northeast-10 Conference action Wednesday evening 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 (8-3, 3-3 NE-10) 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 (South Orange, NJ) added 20 points and a career-high 10 assists as the Bulldogs (8-5, 4-4 NE-10) shot 45.3 percent from the floor and made all 15 free throw attempts to earn their fourth-straight win. Cecil Gresham (Bloomfield, CT) chipped in with 16 points and five rebounds.
The Bulldogs will travel to Albany, NY Saturday to face the College of Saint Rose starting at 3:30 pm.
Post Game Notes ...
* The previous record for three's in a game was 8 held by Chris Burns (twice) and Jason Bennett (vs. Merrimack in 1999).
* Bryant made 13 three's in the game. The school record for three's in a game is 16 coming against Bridgeport in 2005. The Bulldogs had 14 three's earlier this year (6 by Lambert) in a loss at Saint Anselm.
* The 86 points scored was a season-high. Bryant had 44 points at the half.
* The 29 field goals made was also a season-best as were the 21 team assists.
* Merrimack's 25 free throws and 15 made free throws were the most by a Bryant opponent this season.
* The win was the 122nd for coach Max Good at Bryant (122-78) and his 231st (231-216) all-time spanning 16 seasons. Good is four wins shy of tying Leon Drury (126-182 from 1978-1989) for second all-time for coaching victories at Bryant. Tom Foliard won 174 games from 1968 to 1978.
* Chris Birrell returned to the lineup early in the first half. The junior finished with 5 points and 8 assists in 28 minutes.
* Bryant's bench out-scored Merrimack's 40 to 7 in the game.
