BRYANT LOOKS FOR REVENGE AGAINST ALBANY; TRAVEL TO PLAY GREAT DANES MONDAY NIGHT
November 30, 2008
BRYANT LOOKS FOR REVENGE AGAINST ALBANY; TRAVEL TO PLAY GREAT DANES MONDAY NIGHT
UPDATE
The Bulldogs fell 88-58, to second ranked UConn on
Saturday afternoon in Hartford, Connecticut. Cecil Gresham led the
way with a game-high 19 points on six three-pointers. Bryant shot
44 percent (11-25) from behind the arc against the Huskies. Andrew
Lyell added five points, five rebounds and five assists while
playing in a game and career-high 38 minutes. Senior forward Ryan
McLean provided a second half spark as he put in a season-high 10
points on 5-for-7 shooting in the second half. UConn used a balance
attack that included five players finishing in double figures, led
by 7-foot-3 center Hasheem Thabeet who posted a double-double with
16 points and 12 rebounds. The Huskies used a big size advantage to
outrebound the Bulldogs 48-27 in the contest.
University at Albany
The Great Danes have ripped off four-straight wins
including a 76-67 win over Bryant in Smithfield on November 19th.
Led by a career-high 23 points from freshman guard Anthony Raffa,
Albany knocked-off Penn, 73-63 at the SEFCU Center on Saturday
night. During their four game win-streak, the Great Danes have also
knocked-off Central Connecticut and Columbia after starting of the
season with back-to-back losses to two Big East squads in Villanova
and DePaul. Tim Ambrose leads the team in scoring with 14.7 points
per game while Will Harris has done the work on the boards with a
team-leading 5.5 per game.
BRYANT AND ALBANY
The Bulldogs and Great Danes met earlier this season
at the Chace Center with Albany taking the contest by a final of
76-67. Tim Ambrose had a game-high 24 points to go along with eight
rebounds. Sophomore Barry Latham was the high man for Bryant
posting a double-double with 20 points and 11 boards. The Bulldogs
took an early edge over the visiting Great Danes, 5-2 and went up
9-4 after junior Nick Pontes got the ball on the right side of the
net, downing a jumper with pressure all the way around. Albany's
Scotty McRae tied the contest early when he hit a lay-up knotting
the score at 9-9. McRae's basket was part of a 7-0 Great Dane run
that saw the visitors take an 11-9 advantage. The Bulldogs would
lose even more ground to open the second half, giving up 9-2 run
thanks to 1-for-8 shooting from the floor for a 21-point Albany
lead just four minutes into the frame. Freshman Sam Leclerc made it
48-30 with the first bucket of his Bryant career - a three-pointer
at the 14:54 mark of the second half - while a Latham trey at 12:24
cut what was a 23-point Albany lead to a 52-34 tally. Peter Lambert
also chipped in from beyond the arc, cutting Bryant's deficit to 15
with a three with 11:03 left on the clock. Another three from
junior Chris Birrell got the Bulldogs within single digits, 70-61,
with 1:20 left to play, and Latham kept them there with a dunk off
a great Birrell feed with just 13 seconds left, 76-67. But that was
where the scoring would end, as the Bulldogs fell to a 76-67 final.
ON THE REBOUND
The Bulldogs have been outrebounded in each of their
first three contests including surrendering offensive rebounds.
Bryant allowed a season-high 17 offensive boards to UConn, while
allowing 24 second-chance points.
GRESHAM SHOWS HOT HAND
Junior forward Cecil Gresham (Bloomfield, Conn. / MCI) has averaged
21.7 points per game over the last three games while going 15-25
from three-point range (60 percent). He has recorded double-figures
in each of the team's first four contests. The junior grabbed
All-Tournament accolades at the Columbia Classic for his 23 points
per game effort.
LYELL EARNS A START
Senior forward Andrew Lyell (Portsmouth, R.I. / Portsmouth)
earned his second career start against Quinnipiac last Saturday.
Lyell scored eight points, including a three to ice the game
with 30 seconds left as the shot clock expired. The senior was
solid against UConn picking up five points, five rebounds and five
assists. He leads the team averaging 5.8 ebounds per game.
BULLDOGS SIGN FOUR STUDENT-ATHLETES TO LETTERS OF
INTENT
Bryant University head men's basketball coach Tim O'Shea is pleased
to announce the signing of student-athletes Erick Smith (Bel Air,
Md.), Raphael Jordan (Bel Air, Md.), Alex Herzing (Lynchburg, Va.)
and Vladyslav Kondratyev (Gainesville, Fla.) to National Letters of
Intent to enroll at Bryant University in 2009.
Erick Smith, 6-3, Guard, Bel Air, Md. / John Carroll
School
Raphael Jordan, 6-1, Guard, Bel Air, Md. /
John Carroll School
Alex Herzing, 7-0, Center, Lynchburg, Va. / The
Hill School
Vladyslav Kondratyev, 6-8, Forward, Gainesville,
Fla. / The Rock School
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 will travel Iowa to take on the Hawkeyes
of the Big Ten on Friday night.
BRYANT VS. UCONN
The Bryant men's basketball team fought-hard but fell
to the second ranked UConn Huskies, 88-58, at the XL Center in
Hartford, Connecticut Saturday afternoon in front of 12, 558 fans.
The Bulldogs battled the Huskies close through the first 20 minutes
of play, despite trailing 45-28 at the half. Bryant trailed by just
six with as little as 6:30 remaining in the half, while also
holding a lead on three different occasions. On the back of three
Cecil Gresham threes, the Bulldogs jumped out to an 11-9 lead at
the first media timeout. Gresham finished with a game-high 19
points on 6-for-9 shooting from behind the arc. As the two teams
exchanged baskets over the next several minutes, Bryant would once
again reclaim an advantage with just over 12 minutes to play,
15-14, on a baseline jump shot from Nick Pontes. UConn guard Craig
Austrie would respond with a floater in the lane to reclaim a lead
that the squad would not relinquish through the remainder of the
game. Gresham would end another short UConn run with a three later
in the half to bring the score as close as 27-23 with 7:50 to go.
But the Huskies outscored Bryant 18-5 over the last seven minutes,
to take a 17-point halftime lead. Dyson would turn it on in the
second half, scoring eight of the Huskies first 12 points to extend
their lead to 57-35 at the first media timeout. After growing
the lead to as many as 27, the Bulldogs would go on a 8-2 run,
getting threes from Andrew Lyell and Pete Lambert to cut the
deficit to 70-49. Lyell finished with five points, five rebounds
and five assists while playing in a game-high 38 minutes. Trailing
76-49, Ryan McLean found the scoring touch, putting in four
straight for Bryant, cutting the lead back down to 76-53. McLean
ended the contest with a season-high 10 points, all coming in the
second half.
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.
