January 23, 2009
MEN'S BASKETBALL RETURNS TO THE CHACE CENTER SATURDAY AFTERNOON FOR FACE-OFF WITH LONG ISLAND
UPDATE
The Bryant University men's basketball returns home for
the fourth time in the last five games as they host Long Island
University Saturday afternoon for the second meeting this season
between the two teams. Tipoff is at 4 p.m. Bryant fell to the
Blackbirds, 76-61, in Brooklyn, New York in the first meeting. The
Bulldogs will look to get back on the winning track after falling
to NJIT in Newark, 61-51, on Wednesday night. Bryant fell into a
deep first half hole, shooting just 26.1 percent from the floor in
the first half while converting on six field goals as they trailed
the Highlanders, 31-15, at the break. Bryant cut the deficit to
seven twice in the second half, but could not get any closer
despite a season-high 21 points from senior guard Pete Lambert on
six three's. Lambert is second on the team in three's made for the
year with 34 and first in percentage, shooting 34.7 percent from
behind the arc. Tough NJIT defense forced the Bulldogs into 17
turnovers, as the Highlanders converted those in 16 points. Bryant
leading scorer Cecil Gresham went to the line a season-high ten
times and scored ten points as the only other Bulldog in double
figures. Junior forward Nick Pontes had his streak of
seven-straight games in double digits snapped, finishing with eight
points while point guard Chris Birrell tied a career-high with
eight boards in the game.
THE LONG ISLAND BLACKBIRDS
Long Island University travels to the Chace Center
Saturday afternoon to battle the Bulldogs for the second meeting
all-time between the two programs. The Blackbirds come into the
contest tied for second in the Northeast Conference with Mount St.
Mary's following a last-second, 74-73, loss to Monmouth on Thursday
night in West Long Branch, New Jersey. Monmouth's Alex Nunner
scored the team's final 11 points, including a lay-up with seven
seconds to go that would prove to be the game-winner, as the
Blackbirds let a 71-63 lead with 4:02 to play slip away. Junior
Jaytornah Wisseh leads the team in scoring, averaging 15 points per
game, good for seventh overall in the conference. Kyle
Johnson, who had a game-high 19 points last time against the
Bulldogs, is next on the team at 14.4 points per game.
BULLDOGS FALL TO NJIT
NJIT shot 41.4 percent from the floor in the first half
while hitting five three's to take a commanding halftime lead that
they would not relinquish, as they knocked off Bryant, 61-51, in
Newark Wednesday night. The Bulldogs were held to their second
lowest first half output of the season as they shot just 26.1
percent from the floor, converting on six field goals. Bryant put
on a comeback in the second half, outscoring the Highlanders 36-30
and coming as close as seven twice, but were stopped by solid free
throw shooting down the stretch. Pete Lambert scored a season-high
21 points on six three's while Chris Birrell tied a career-high
with eight boards.
BRYANT AND LONG ISLAND
This is second all-time meeting between the two programs,
the first coming back on Jan. 7 in Brooklyn, New York with the
Blackbirds beating the Bulldogs, 76-61. Kyle Johnson scored a
game-high 19 points for Long Island, while Pete Lambert paced the
Bryant offense with 18 points on six three's.
ON SECOND THOUGHT
The Bulldogs are averaging 8.9 points more per game in the
second half than the first half this season, scoring 31.5 points
while shooting 40.4 percent from the floor and 32.7 percent from
three point land. In the first half, Bryant has had its struggles,
shooting at a clip of 34.4 percent from the floor and just 28.3
percent from behind the arc while averaging 22.6 points. The
Bulldogs have gone into the locker room with double-digit deficits
15 times this season. Bryant has also minimized the rebounding
differential in the second half, going from a -6 differential in
the first half to -2.8 in the second half. Bryant has outscored or
tied its opponents in six of the last seven games in the second
half, including beating Yale 50-24, Cornell 28-26, Sacred Heart
41-32, Fairleigh Dickinson 31-19 and NJIT 36-30, while tying Brown
31-31.
ON THE LINE
Bryant has done a better job getting to the free-throw
stripe in the second half, shooting 194 free-throws in the second
half compared to just 97 in the first half. Their opponents have
been called for 109 first half fouls, while that number increases
to 180 in the second frame. Overall, the Bulldogs have been
whistled for 63 more personal fouls than their opponents over the
first 19 games, and have attempted 78 fewer free-throws. Last time
out against, Bryant did not have a free-throw attempt in the first
half, but came back to go 13-18 in the second frame. Bryant has
shot only 62.9 percent from the charity stripe this season.
LONG RANGE MISSILE
Guard Pete Lambert (Cumberland, R.I. / Cumberland) had a
solid three-game stretch against Yale, LIU and Brown, 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 record
double figures for the third-straight game. The senior is second on
the team in three's made for this year with 34 and second in
percentage, shooting 34.7 percent from behind the arc. He hit six
three's last time out against NJIT, scoring a team-high 21 points.
HOME SWEET HOME
Bryant has shot 41.2 percent from the floor and 31.1
percent from behind the arc in its six home games this season,
winning two of those, compared to just a 35 field goal percentage
and 29.6 percent three-point shooting on the road. The Bulldogs
have also done a better job on the boards at home, getting
outrebounded 32.7 to 30.5 at home while the margin climbs to 40 to
28.3 on the road. Overall, the team has been outscored 71.7 to 51.7
on the road but just 63 to 58.3 at home.
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.
PONTES AND CIRCUMSTANCE
Junior Nick Pontes (New Bedford, Mass. / New Bedford) had
a seven game double-figure streak snapped last game as he scored
eight points against NJIT. The junior led the team in that stretch
with 13.9 points per game and 4.3 rebounds. 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
followed that with 10 against LIU, a game-high 18 against Brown, a
team-high 13 against Cornell and 11 against Sacred Heart. In the
team's latest victory over Fairleigh Dickinson, the junior scored a
game-high 18 points, 13 in the first half, while grabbing seven
rebounds.
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.
UP NEXT
The Bulldogs begin a four-game road trip as they head to
Pittsburgh to battle the first place Colonials of Robert Morris (7
p.m.).
