MEN’S BASKETBALL STARTS FINAL MONTH OF PLAY ON THE ROAD; TRAVEL TO MONMOUTH THURSDAY NIGHT

February 4, 2009

MEN'S BASKETBALL STARTS FINAL MONTH OF PLAY ON THE ROAD; TRAVEL TO MONMOUTH THURSDAY NIGHT

Game Notes

UPDATE
The Bryant University men's basketball team plays their third of a four-game road trip Thursday night and are looking for their fourth win in the last six contests as they battle the Hawks of Monmouth University in West Long Branch, New Jersey. Tipoff is at 7 p.m. This is first ever meeting between the two programs. Their last time out, the Bulldogs won their first Division I road game with a, 65-60, comeback win over Saint Francis (Pa) on Saturday night. The Bulldogs did beat Quinnipiac earlier this season away from the Chace Center, but the game took place on a neutral court. Without the services of starting point guard Chris Birrell, the Bulldogs relied on freshman Sam Leclerc and senior Pete Lambert to run the offense. Lambert scored a game-high 22 points, hitting 6-of-17 from beyond the arc, while sophomore Adam Parzych proved to be clutch once again for Bryant, as he went for a career-high 17 points including a big three from the top of the key with under 30 seconds remaining in the contest to seal the Bulldogs fifth win, after trailing by as many as 14 in the second half.  It was the second time Bryant has overcame a double-digit halftime deficit to come back for the win, the last coming at home against Yale on January 2. It was just the third time this year Bryant has outrebounded an opponent, as they beat the Red Flash 31-30 on the glass.

THE MONMOUTH HAWKS
Monmouth University plays host to the Bulldogs Thursday night in the first meeting all-time between the two programs. The Hawks are looking to snap a three-game losing skid, as they return home from a three-game road trip where they fell to Mount St. Mary's (70-52), St. Francis (PA) (65-51) and Robert Morris (75-62). In their latest loss at Robert Morris, Monmouth had three freshman scored in double figures, as Travis Taylor notched a team-high 19 points, while Will Campbell and Mike Myers had 14 and ten points respectively. A young squad, the Hawks have returned 80 percent of their scoring and 84 percent of their assists from last year's team, translating into a 61 points per game average this season, good for tenth in the conference while raking sixth in the NEC in scoring defense, surrendering 68.7 ppg. Monmouth has been without the services of their captain, Whitney Robinson, all season, who was lost for the season when he injured his knee in the first game of the season.

BULLDOGS KNOCK-OFF ST. FRANCIS (PA)
Adam Parzych had a career-high 17 points, including a three from the top of the key with less than 30 seconds remaining to help lift Bryant to a, 65-60, comeback win over Saint Francis on Saturday night to grab their first Division I road victory. Bryant trailed by as many as 14 in the second half, but went on a 16-2 run that culminated with a Cecil Gresham three to knot the game at 44 apiece with 8:29 to go. The Bulldogs took the lead for good on a pull-up jumper by Gresham with 3:03 remaining. Senior guard Pete Lambert led the charge, scoring 22 points while connecting on six from long range.

BRYANT AND MONMOUTH
This is first meeting all-time between the Bulldogs and the Hawks.

ON SECOND THOUGHT
The comeback win over Saint Francis was just the latest second half surge by Bryant this season. The Bulldogs are averaging 8.5 points more per game in the second half than the first half this season, scoring 31.5 points while shooting 40 percent from the floor and 33.7 percent from three point land. In the first half, Bryant has had its struggles, shooting at a clip of 35 percent from the floor and just 28.6 percent from behind the arc while averaging 23 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 -5.3 differential in the first half to -2.5 in the second half. Bryant has outscored or tied its opponents in seven of the last nine games in the second half, including beating Yale 50-24, Cornell 28-26, Sacred Heart 41-32, Fairleigh Dickinson 31-19, NJIT 36-30 and Saint Francis 45-30, while tying Brown 31-31. Last time out, Bryant outscored Saint Francis 45-30 in the second half, hitting 8-for-18 from downtown and beating the Red Flash 17-12 on the glass including 10 offensive boards.

BRYANT VS THE NEC
The Bulldogs, who will become full members of the Northeast Conference in the 2012-2013 season, have posted a 4-4 record against NEC opponents, including going 2-1 at home. Bryant has grabbed wins against Quinnipiac (59-50), Fairleigh Dickinson (56-43), Long Island (57-55) and Saint Francis, Pa. (65-60), 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 56.6 points per game, shooting 38.6 percent from the floor against the Conference, while limiting opponents to 62.1 points and 43.4 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 and matched that with six more against Saint Francis (PA) while scoring a game-high 22. The senior is second on the team in three's made for this year with 41 and third in percentage, shooting 32.8 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 field goal percentage of 35 percent and 30.8 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 38.4 to 28.1 on the road. Overall, the team has been outscored 67 to 54.5 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. The junior is now just five away from fifth all time behind John Wallace who has 119.

UP NEXT
The Bulldogs conclude a four-game road trip as they battle Quinnipiac in Hamden, Connecticut on Saturday afternoon (2 p.m.).