• Sat, 02/25 | Men's Basketball vs. Mount St. Mary's L, 71-62 (Final) BX | RC
  • Thu, 02/23 | Men's Basketball vs. Wagner L, 86-73 (Final) BX | RC
  • Sat, 02/18 | Men's Basketball at Saint Francis (PA) L, 76-61 (Final) BX | RC
  • Thu, 02/16 | Men's Basketball at Robert Morris L, 69-40 (Final) BX | RC
  • Sat, 02/11 | Men's Basketball vs. Sacred Heart L, 72-46 (Final) BX | RC
  • Wed, 02/08 | Men's Basketball at Sacred Heart L, 79-77 (Final) BX | RC
  • Sat, 02/04 | Men's Basketball at St. Francis (NY) L, 80-67 (Final) BX | RC
  • Thu, 02/02 | Men's Basketball at LIU Brooklyn L, 75-70 (Final) BX | RC
  • Sat, 01/28 | Men's Basketball vs. Monmouth L, 78-68 (Final) BX | RC
  • Thu, 01/26 | Men's Basketball vs. Fairleigh Dickinson L, 66-63 (Final) BX | RC
 
November 18, 2008

BULLDOG MEN'S BASKETBALL KICKS OFF INAUGURAL DIVISION I SEASON AT HOME WEDNESDAY NIGHT VERSUS ALBANY

November 18, 2008

Game Notes / LIVE STATS /  LIVE VIDEO / LIVE AUDIO

BULLDOG MEN'S BASKETBALL KICKS OFF INAUGURAL DIVISION I SEASON AT HOME WEDNESDAY NIGHT VERSUS ALBANY

SMITHFIELD, RI-- The Bryant University men's basketball team kicks off its first season of Division I play tonight as they take on the University at Albany Great Danes from the America East Conference at the Chace Athletic Center. The Bulldogs finished their exhibition season with a record of 1-1, after falling to St. Francis Xavier (Canada), 71-64, their last time out. Cecil Gresham and Nick Pontes scored 16 points apiece to lead the way for Bryant. The Bulldogs trailed by nine at the half but were brought back by 5-9 shooting from behind the three-point arc to close the deficit to three late in the game. The X-Men finished the game shooting 50 percent from the floor, while making 10-20 from downtown. Tyler Richards had 18 points and knocked down five threes, inlcuding a big three in the final minute to help St. Francis Xavier to the win. Chris Birrell added 10 assists for Bryant while Barry Latham dropped in 15 points while grabbing five boards.
 
University at Albany
The Great Danes, who enter the 2008-09 campaign tabbed sixth in the America East Conference, started the season with back-to-back road contests against Big East opponents Villanova and DePaul. The 25th ranked (23rd AP poll) Villanova Wildcats took down Albany 86-70 in both teams' season opener,  while DePaul was just able to squeak by the Great Danes with a 75-64 win on Monday night. Virginia transfer Will Harris has led the way, averaging 12 points and five rebounds through two games.

BRYANT AND ALBANY
This is the first ever meeting between the Bulldogs and Great Danes.

UP NEXT
The Bulldogs will travel to the Columbia Tournament Nov. 21-22 to take on host Columbia on Friday night and either Quinnipiac or UMBC on Saturday. After that, Bryant heads down to Hartford, CT to face preseason number two ranked UConn on Nov. 29. 

BRYANT VS. ST. FRANCIS XAVIER
Christian Upshaw scored a game-high 20 points including two free throws with 12 seconds left to help visiting Saint Francis Xavier preserve a 71-64 win over Bryant University in an exhibition game Saturday afternoon at the Chace Athletic Center.  Saint Francis Xavier shot 50 percent from the floor in the game including 52 percent in the second half. The Nova Scotia based X-Men got 18 points from guard Tyler Richards and 10 points and five rebounds from Jeremy Dunn off the bench to pull out the win.  Richards, a senior from Halifax, Nova Scotia, made all five 3-point attempts and was 6 of 9 shooting from the floor. Bryant, which got 16 points each from forward Nick Pontes (New Bedford, MA) and Cecil Gresham (Bloomfield, CT), trailed 36-27 at the half, but used good defensive pressure to pull even on a three from Chris Birrell (Scituate, RI), knotting things up at 54-54 with 6:15 left. But Sean Nickel came right back and drained a three of his own to put the X-Men back on top for good.  A Pontes jumper in the lane with 2:57 pulled Bryant to within 62-61, but that would be as close as the Bulldogs would get as Upshaw and Dunn made good on their free throws down the stretch. Bryant shot 45.5 percent from the floor in the game. Birrell finished with eight points and 10 assists plus five steals in 32 minutes. 
  
BRYANT TO JOIN NORTHEAST CONFERENCE
Last October, Bryant officially accepted an invitation to join the Division I Northeast Conference.  The school will begin a four-year transition to Division I and become a full member of the Northeast Conference in the fall of 2012. Bryant will not be eligible for conference or NCAA postseason play during the four-year transition period.  The Northeast Conference includes members:  Central Connecticut, Fairleigh Dickinson, Long Island, Monmouth, Mount St. Mary's, Quinnipiac, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart, St. Francis NY, St. Francis PA, and Wagner. 

 BRYANT BASKETBALL ON WOON AND WJMF RADIO
Bryant University basketball games can be heard live on WOON-AM 1240, the home of Bryant Sports, throughout the basketball season.  All home games and select road games will be carried live with Jon Wallach calling the action.   Bryant's student radio station, WJMF will also broadcast home games this year.  All home games will also be made available for viewing online courtesy of Penn Atlantic.  

 

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