January 09, 2010
BULLDOGS SUFFER HEART-BREAKING LOSS AT THE HANDS OF MONMOUTH, FALL 67-62 ON SATURDAY NIGHT
WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. -- The Bryant
University men's basketball team played with heart and
determination throughout a game that featured six lead changes and
six ties, but in the end the Bulldogs would suffer another
heartbreaking defeat as Northeast Conference foe Monmouth
University scored seven unanswered points to take the lead with
just two minutes to play and close out a 67-62 victory.
The Bulldogs (0-16, 0-4 Northeast Conference) shot 45 percent from the field and an even 40 percent from beyond the arc. Leading the way was freshman Vlad Kondratyev (Nikolayev, Ukraine) with 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting while senior Adam Parzych (Lindenhurst, N.Y.) added 14 points on 4-for-8 shooting from 3-point range and 2-for-2 accuracy from the line. Junior Michael Chroney (Nashua, N.H.) also played a well-balance game, scoring five points and pulling down a team-best six rebounds while posting a trio of new career marks. The walk-on-turned-starter dished out a career-high eight assists against the Hawks, also boasting a career-best three blocks and playing a career-high 40 minutes.
The Hawks (7-9, 3-1) were led by Will Campbell and his ability to make clutch shots when it mattered most. Campbell scored 19 points and hit the two biggest shots of the game for Monmouth while going 5-for-8 from 3-point range. Bigman Travis Taylor added 16 points for the home side and pulled down seven rebounds. Rutgers transfer and sharpshooter Justin Sofman added 11 points of his own while senior center Dutch Gaitley pulled down 11 boards for the Hawks.
After passing the ball around the key in the waning seconds of the first half, the Bulldogs were able to find Chroney all alone in the corner. The junior took the long range shot and knotted the score at 37-37 with just 25 seconds left in the frame. Seven Bryant players scored in the opening session including Chroney, who had five points and two steals and added six first-half assists. Kondratyev led the way for Bryant with nine points on 3-for-5 shooting from the field at the half. Senior Nick Pontes (New Bedford, Mass.) also provided a spark for the Bulldogs, going 3-for-3 from the field for six points in only eight minutes of play.
The battle continued in the second half as each team traded baskets over the first 15 minutes of period. The Bulldogs were able to take the lead once in that timeframe and were never down more the six in the span. However, it was at the 4:46 mark when freshman Erick Smith (Bel Air, Md.) and the Bulldogs silenced the crowd.
Following a Sofman 3-point attempt, Chroney gathered the long rebound and sent a high-arching pass upcourt to a streaking Smith. The speedy guard snatched the ball out of the air and managed to put up an acrobatic layup as he was fouled hard by Sofman. As Smith fell to the ground and the whistle blew, the ball trickled around the rim and joined Smith on the ground, sliding through the net for the basket. Smith hit his ensuing free throw to give Bryant the 62-60 lead.
Unfortunately, Smith's free throw would be the last Bulldog point, and at the 3:22 mark, Gaitley hit one of two free throws for the Hawks to bring MU back to within one. Then, with two minutes remaining, Campbell's ability to make the bigtime shots had its chance to shine. The 5-foot-10 guard hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with exactly two minutes left in the game to give the Hawks a two-point lead. After the Bulldogs missed two 3-point attempts on consecutive possessions, Campbell struck again. With 15 seconds left and a two-point advantage, he launched another long-range shot from the top of the key, draining the basket for the five-point, 67-62 win as the crowd of nearly 1,000 erupted.
Bryant returns to action on Thursday, January 14 at 7:30 p.m. when it hosts Sacred Heart in the Chace Athletic Center in Smithfield, R.I. After playing 14 of their first 16 games on the road, the Bulldogs will play nine of their last 14 games in front of their hometown crowd.
