BULLDOGS FALL AT MOUNT ST. MARY’S, 74-45, IN THE 2009-10 ROAD FINALE
February 20, 2010
BULLDOGS FALL AT MOUNT ST. MARY'S, 74-45, IN THE 2009-10 ROAD FINALE
EMMITSBURG, MD - Freshman Raphael Jordan (Bel Air, Md.) scored a career-high 19 points on Saturday night as the Bryant University men's basketball team brought its road season to close as it was defeated, 74-45, at NEC foe Mount St. Mary's.
Bryant (1-27, 1-15 NEC) had two players score in double figures as Jordan poured in a career-high 19 and Vlad Kondratyev (Nikolayev, Ukraine) added 11 of his own. Jordan, coming off the two biggest free throws of his Bryant career which earned the Bulldogs their first win of the season at Wagner on Thursday, was 9-15 from the floor including 1-2 from long range. Playing in his home state for the first time, the guard came out hot in the first half scoring 15 points off the bench.
The Bulldogs shot 34 percent from the field including a dismal 12.5 percent (2-16) from 3-point range.
With the win Mount St. Mary's extends its winning-streak to eight games and improves to 13-14 overall. Looking to clinch the third spot in the conference tournament, the Mount improves to 10-6 in the Northeast Conference.
The Mountaineers were led by Jeremy Goode and Shawn Atupem. Goode and Atupem scored 19 and 18 points, respectively. The Mount shot 49.2 percent from the field.
Both teams shot poorly from the free throw line as the Bulldogs shot just 43.8 percent and the Mountaineers registered a 52 percent free throw percentage.
Mount St. Mary's opened Saturday night's action with a 13-2 run to take command early-on against the Bulldogs. The Mountaineers didn't let up there as they continued the hot shooting and great defense en route to a 27-9 lead with 9:16 left in the first half. Jordan and senior Adam Parzych (Lindenhurst, N.Y.) combined for all nine Bryant points.
Jordan and the Bulldogs battled back over the next 3:20 as the freshman guard poured in seven of the Bulldogs' next nine points to bring his squad back with 11 points, 29-18, with less than six minutes to go.
Following the brief Bryant run, the Mount responded by closing the half out with a 13-7 run of its own to take a 17-point, 42-25 lead after 20 minutes of play.
Jordan, coming off the bench for Bryant, accounted for 60 percent of the Bulldogs' scoring in the first stanza as he poured in a half-high 15 points on 7-9 shooting. Other than Jordan, only Parzych and Kondratyev added first-half points as they each recorded five. Bryant shot 39.1 percent from the field in the first half including a dismal 14.3 percent (1-7) from beyond the arc.
The Mount had two players record double-digit points in the first half as Goode and Atupem recorded 13 and 12, respectively. The Mountaineers shot 60.7 percent from the field in the first, including 42.9 percent from beyond the arc.
Using a quick 5-1 run to start the action in the second half the Mountaineers extended its lead to 21 points, its largest of the game thus far, as they led 47-26. Bryant registered its first field goal of the second half when freshman forward Clay McMath (Adelaide, Australia) hit a 3-pointer with 15:30 remaining in regulation to bring the score to 47-29.
Bryant was unable to stop the Mount from scoring as the teams continued to trade baskets over the next eight minutes of play as the Mountaineers took a 59-39 lead with 7:04 remaining.
Mount St. Mary's finished the game on a dominating 17-6 run to record its eighth straight victory winning by a final margin of 74-45.
Bryant rounds out 2009-10 action with a pair of home games next week. The Bulldogs close out league play with the same opponents against whom they opened NEC action this season, welcoming St. Francis (NY) and Long Island to the Chace Athletic Center for a pair of rematches. The Bulldogs will play the Terriers on Thursday, Feb. 25 at 7:30 p.m. before hosting the Blackbirds on Saturday, Feb. 27 for the 3:30 p.m. season finale.
