January 30, 2009
MEN'S BASKETBALL FINISHES PENNSYLVANIA TRIP AS THEY HEAD TO ST. FRANCIS (PA) SATURDAY NIGHT
UPDATE
The Bryant University men's basketball team plays their
second of a four-game road trip as they take on the Red Flash of
St. Francis (Pa.) tonight in search of their first road victory.
Tipoff is at 7 p.m. This is first meeting all-time between the two
programs. Their last time out, the Bulldogs fell to defending
Northeast Conference champion Robert Morris, 72-47, at the Sewall
Center on Thursday night. Bryant could not slow down a lights-out
shooting attack, as the Colonials hit on 58.1 percent of their
shots from the floor for the game, including a sizzling 68.2
percent in the first half, helping to build a, 41-22, lead going
into the halftime break. Jimmy Langhurst led the Colonial offense,
connecting on 4-of-6 from downtown and scoring 17 points. The
Bulldogs were burned by 21 turnovers in the contest, with Robert
Morris converting those into 25 points. Sophomore guard Adam
Parzych had another solid game, scoring seven points while dishing
out a career-best four assists. Nick Pontes paced the Bryant
offense, scoring ten points as the only Bulldog in double figures,
while leading scorer Cecil Gresham (12.8 ppg) was limited to
1-for-8 from the floor, scoring three points. Bryant has gone 3-4
against NEC opponents and is in search of its third win in its last
five contests.
THE ST. FRANCIS RED FLASH
St. Francis University hosts the Bulldogs tonight in the
first meeting all-time between the two programs. The Red Flash
snapped a ten-game losing skid their last time out with a 65-51 win
over Monmouth on Thursday night. Point guard Cale Nelson dished out
nine assists in the contest, moving him into sixth place all-time
on the school's assists list, while fellow senior Marquis Ford tied
a career-high with 19 points on 7-for-11 shooting. Devin Sweetney
also contributed to the win with his fourth double-double of the
year, tallying 16 points while pulling down ten rebounds. Sweetney
leads the team in scoring, averaging 14.3 points per game to go
along with 7.4 boards, while Mislav Jukic is next with 11.7 ppg.
Although the squad has had its struggles from the outside this
season, the Red Flash are the only team in the NEC that boasts
three different players who have hit at least 100 three's in Grants
Suprenant (127), Nelson (135) and Ford (121).
ROBERT MORRIS KNOCKS-OFF BULLDOGS
The Colonials shot 58.1 percent from the floor while
hitting nine three's to get past the Bulldogs, 72-47, Thursday
night in Moon Township, Pennsylvania. Bryant committed a
season-high 21 turnovers in the contest that Robert Morris
converted into 25 points. The Bulldogs jumped out to an early 5-0
lead in the game, but an 18-2 run by the Colonials midway through
the first half helped the defending Northeast Conference champions
take control of the game and build a 28-12 advantage with under
eight minutes to play in the first frame. Nick Pontes led the way
for Bryant with ten points, while Jerrann Wright, Adam Parzych and
Sam Leclerc each added seven.
BRYANT AND ST. FRANCIS (PA)
This is first meeting all-time between the Bulldogs and
the Red Flash.
ON SECOND THOUGHT
The Bulldogs are averaging 7.7 points more per game in the
second half than the first half this season, scoring 30.8 points
while shooting 39.9 percent from the floor and 32.9 percent from
three point land. In the first half, Bryant has had its struggles,
shooting at a clip of 35.4 percent from the floor and just 28.8
percent from behind the arc while averaging 23.1 points. The
Bulldogs have gone into the locker room with double-digit deficits
16 times this season. Bryant has also minimized the rebounding
differential in the second half, going from a -5.4 differential in
the first half to -2.9 in the second half. Bryant has outscored or
tied its opponents in six of the last eight 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. Bryant flipped the script against LIU and had its best first
half of the season, outscoring the Blackbirds 34-17 while shooting
55.6 percent from the floor and outrebounding Long Island 17-11.
BRYANT VS THE NEC
The Bulldogs, who will become full members of the
Northeast Conference in the 2012-2013 season, have posted a 3-4
record against NEC opponents, including going 2-1 at home. Bryant
has grabbed wins against Quinnipiac (59-50), Fairleigh Dickinson
(56-43) and Long Island (57-55) while falling to Mount St. Mary's
(68-44), Sacred Heart (73-64), Long Island (76-61) and Robert
Morris (72-47). The team has averaged 54.9 points per game,
shooting 38.4 percent from the floor against the Conference, while
limiting opponents to 62.2 points and 41.9 percent shooting.
Against non-NEC opponents, Bryant has allowed 69.9 points and 46.9
percent shooting while scoring 53.2 points on 37.1 percent from the
floor.
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. He hit six three's
against NJIT on Jan. 21, scoring a team-high 21 points. The senior
is second on the team in three's made for this year with 35 and
third in percentage, shooting 32.4 percent from behind the arc.
HOME SWEET HOME
Bryant has shot 41.6 percent from the floor and 31.2
percent from behind the arc in its seven home games this season,
winning three of those, compared to just a 35 field goal percentage
and 30.2 percent three-point shooting on the road. The Bulldogs
have also done a better job on the boards at home, getting
outrebounded 32.3 to 30.1 at home while the margin climbs to 39.1
to 27.9 on the road. Overall, the team has been outscored 71.7 to
51.3 on the road but just 61.9 to 58.1 at home.
TAKING AIM AT THE RECORD BOOK
Cecil Gresham moved up to sixth all-time in career made
three-pointers after hitting two at Long Island on Jan. 7, giving
him 103 for his career, passing Cullen McCarthy.
UP NEXT
The Bulldogs play their third of a four-game road trip as
they take on Monmouth Thursday night in West Long Branch, New
Jersey.
