January 11, 2009
MEN'S BASKETBALL BEGINS THREE-GAME HOME-STAND MONDAY NIGHT; BATTLE DEFENDING IVY LEAGUE CHAMPION CORNELL AT THE CHACE CENTER
UPDATE
The Bryant University men's basketball team begins a
three-game home-stand Monday night as they take on
defending Ivy League Champion Cornell at the Chace Athletic Center.
Tipoff is at 7 p.m. In their last outing, Bryant fell to intrastate
rival Brown, 69-56, in Providence Saturday afternoon. Junior
forward Nick Pontes registered his fourth-straight game in
double-figures, scoring a game-high 18 points on 9-of-17 shooting.
The Bulldogs overcame a 16 point deficit to come as close as three
in the second half, but could not get shots to fall down the
stretch from the outside, shooting just 22.7 percent from
three-point land. Senior guard Pete Lambert continued to shoot well
from the outside, hitting on 3-of-6 and scoring 11 points, while
Cecil Gresham hit for 13 points and scored double-figures for the
first time since Dec. 27 against Maryland. The junior hit a three
in the first half against LIU, moving him up to sixth in career
three's made at Bryant.
THE CORNELL BIG RED
Cornell closes out its non-conference schedule Monday
night in the first-ever matchup with Bryant University.
The Big Red will be seeking its 10th non-league win tonight - a
feat that hasn't occurred since the 1950-51 season. However,
Cornell does bring in a five game road losing skid into tonight's
contest though four of those five defeats came against Indiana,
Syracuse, Minnesota and Saint Joseph's. Since the loss to
Saint Joseph's in Philadelphia, the Big Red have racked up four
consecutive wins including a 75-64 win over Bucknell at home.
Forward Ryan Wittman comes into the game averaging 20.5 ppg and
needs 44 points to move into Cornell's top-10. The junior hit
nine 3-pointers against Syracuse, matching the single-game school
record held by Alex Compton. Junior guard Louis Dale, the Ivy
League Player of the Year in 2007-08, is averaging 13.6 ppg and 3.6
assists per game this season while seven-foot senior Jeff Foote is
next with 12.7 ppg and 7.0 rebounds per game average. He also
leads the team with 42 assists.
BULLDOGS FALL SHORT IN COMEBACK AGAINST BROWN
The Bulldogs overcame a 16 points first half deficit to
come as close as three in the second half, but fell short against
Brown, 69-56. Nick Pontes scored 12 of his season-high 18 points in
the second half to help pace the Bulldogs, as Pete Lambert
connected on three three's and 11 points for his third-straight
double-digit game. Bryant trailed by just four points with under
five minutes to play, but the Bears hit on back-to-back three's to
help but the game away.
BRYANT AND CORNELL
This is the first meeting all-time between the Bulldogs
and the Big Red.
ON SECOND THOUGHT
The Bulldogs are averaging 7.6 points more per game in the
second half than the first half this season, scoring 30.9 points
while shooting 39.7 percent from the floor and 35 percent from
three point land. In the first half, Bryant has had its struggles,
shooting at a clip of 35.1 percent from the floor and just 29.2
percent from behind the arc while averaging 23.3 points. Bryant has
also minimized the rebounding differential in the second half,
going from a -7.1 differential in the first half to -4.2 in the
second half. Bryant outscored Yale 50-24 in the second half,
shooting 56 percent from the floor. Against Long Island, Bryant
shot a lights-out 63.6 from three in the second half (7-11).
ON THE LINE
Bryant has done a better job getting to the free-throw
stripe in the second half, shooting 143 free-throws in the second
half compared to just 73 in the first half. Their opponents have
been called for 88 first half fouls, while that number increases to
137 in the second frame. Overall, the Bulldogs have been whistled
for 56 more personal fouls than their opponents over the first 15
games, and have attempted 85 fewer free-throws. Bryant has shot
only 61.6 percent from the charity stripe this season including
5-fo-9 against Brown.
LONG RANGE MISSILE
Guard Pete Lambert (Cumberland, R.I. / Cumberland) has
been firing on all cylinders in the last three games, going
12-for-21 from behind the arc and averaging 15 points per game. The
senior went 3-7 from downtown in a comeback win against Yale,
scoring a team-high 16 points. He followed that up with a 6-8
performance from the outside against LIU, connecting on five second
half three's to lead the team with 18 points before hitting three
more from downtown against Brown to score 11 points and score in
double-figures for the third straight game.
HOME SWEET HOME
Bryant has shot 44 percent from the floor and 40 percent
from behind the arc in its three home games this season, compared
to just a 33.8 field goal percentage and 29 percent three-point
shooting on the road. The Bulldogs have also done a better job on
the boards at home, getting outrebounded 33.8 to 28.3 at home while
the margin climbs to 39.6 to 27.7 on the road.
PONTES AND CIRCUMSTANCE
Junior Nick Pontes (New Bedford, Mass. / New Bedford) has
come alive, scoring in double-figures in each of the last four
games, averaging 13.8 points per game and 8.8 in the second half.
After scoring 12 in a loss to Mount St. Mary's, Pontes scored 15
second-half points against Yale to help lead the Bulldogs to a
comeback win. He has followed that with 10 against LIU and a
game-high 18 against Brown.
TAKING AIM AT THE RECORD BOOK
Cecil Gresham moved up to sixth all-time in career made
three-pointers after hitting two against Long Island, giving him
103 for his career, passing Cullen McCarthy.
BULLDOGS EARN FIRST DIVISION I WIN
With a 59-50 win over Quinnipiac in the consolation game
of the Columbia Classic, Bryant grabbed its first Division I men's
basketball win in the history of the program.
GRESHAM EXCELS IN SPOTLIGHT
Junior forward Cecil Gresham (Bloomfield, Conn. / MCI)
averaged 21.7 points per game over a three game span while going
15-25 from three-point range (60 percent) against Columbia,
Quinnipiac and UConn. The junior grabbed All-Tournament
accolades at the Columbia Classic for his 23 points per game
effort. After struggling against Albany and Iowa, Gresham scored a
game-high 14 points while knocking down four three's and grabbing a
season-best seven rebounds against Army, followed by a 14-point
second half performance against Boston College, including 5 three's
and seven more rebounds to finish with a team-high 19 points on the
night. After scoring a game-high 24 points against Providence,
Gresham showed his dominance against the New England Big Three
(UConn, BC, Providence) averaging 20.7 points and five rebounds per
game while hitting 13 three's. In six games against BCS schools
(Iowa, Rutgers, BC, Providence, Maryland and UConn), Gresham has
averaged 15.8 points and four boards per game.
UP NEXT
The Bulldogs will have two more home contests, taking on
last year's Northeast Conference Tournament finalist Sacred Heart
on Wednesday night at the Chace Center (7 p.m.).
