March 3, 2008
MEN'S BASKETBALL FALLS TO SAINT ROSE 64-61
Bulldogs Will Await Word On NCAA Bid Sunday Night
ALBANY, NY - Senior Jon Ezeokoli scored 13 second half points but it was not enough as the Bryant men's basketball team dropped a 64-61 decision to Saint Rose in a Northeast-10 Conference quarterfinal round game Monday night at Nolan Gym. The Bulldogs (17-12) will now await word on an NCAA bid when the Division II bracket is announced Sunday evening.
Saint Rose (22-6), the second seed of the tournament, will advance to the conference semifinals where they will face Assumption College.
The Bulldogs came out firing from the perimeter in the opening minutes as Pete Lambert, Cecil Gresham and Chris Birrell each drained consecutive three-pointers as Bryant 19-10 out of the gate. Steve D'Agostino would answer for Saint Rose with a basket and foul after picking up a steal at midcourt. But Barry Latham would counter, scoring on a running floater and the Bulldogs led 21-13.
But that is when the Golden Knights used a stifling trap defense that resulted in several easy fast break lay-ups. Saint Rose had 12 points off turnovers in the first half including six-straight buckets to tie the game at 21-21.
The Bulldogs struggled during a key stretch to get the ball past an aggressive Golden Knights mid-court trap. D'Agostino and Jermaine Clark keyed a 14-2 run that saw the hosts pull in front 28-23 before Jerrann Wright scored on an offensive put-back to pull the Bulldogs back to within a pair, 28-26.
In the second half, Bryant would regain a 53-52 lead with 3:44 left following two Latham free throws, but Saint Rose would battle back as Shanty Robinson scored his first basket of the game with a minute left and Clark drained a killer three with 25 seconds left and the Golden Knights would advance.
Ezeokoli would finish with 13 while Birrell and Wright each had 11 to pace the Bulldogs.
After scoring 13 first half points, D'Agostino finished with 17 to lead all scorers.
