Men's Basketball Defeats Saint Michael's
November 2, 2008
BRYANT MEN'S BASKETBALL OPENS EXHIBITION SEASON WITH 60-50 WIN OVER SAINT MICHAEL'S COLLEGE SUNDAY
SMITHFIELD, R.I. - The Tim O'Shea era kicked off Sunday afternoon as the Bryant University men's basketball team rallied from down four at the half to earn a 60-50 win over Saint Michael's College Sunday afternoon at the Chace Athletic Center.
Sunday's game was the first of two exhibition contests for the Bulldogs under first-year coach O'Shea. Bryant will host St. Francis Xavier in the final exhibition next Saturday (Nov. 8) at 2 pm before opening the new season at home against Albany on Wednesday, Nov. 19.
Against Saint Michael's Sunday, Bryant trailed the Purple Knights 28-24 at the half but used an 8-0 run to open the second half to regain the lead for good. Two free throws by Barry Latham (Taunton, MA) helped tie the game, 28-28 with 15:13 left. Nick Pontes (New Bedford, MA) scored on a power move inside was followed by an Adam Parzych (Lindenhurst, NY) to close out the run.
Saint Michael's would lead one by one, 37-36 with nine minutes left, but a Latham Jumper and another jumper in the paint by Pontes put the game away and the Bulldogs would make their free throws down the stretch.
Pontes came off the bench to lead all scorers with 13 points in 23 minutes. The junior was 6-for-14 from the floor while Cecil Gresham (Bloomfield, CT) added 10 points as Bryant shot 36.8 percent from the floor and forced SMC into 21 turnovers. Chris Birrell (Scituate, RI) had 9 points to go with five assists and five steals.
Saint Michael's got 10 points apiece from Tyler Schilling, Nate Birr and Alex Berthiaume as the Purple Knights shot 35.7 percent from the floor in the game.
