PROVIDENCE JOURNAL - Basketball Recap, Bulldogs Get Support From Community
PROVIDENCE JOURNAL
December 13, 2009
College basketball: Columbia 69, Bryant 57
By ROBERT LEE / roblee@projo.com
Journal Sports Writer
SMITHFIELD - In a time where universities across the countries are
cutting back on their athletic programs, it's nice to see that the
Bryant men's basketball team has the full support of the community
in Smithfield even when the program continues to struggle.
Last season Bryant made the first leap of what will be a five-year
transition from Division II to Division I and they took their
lumps, going 8-21.
The Bulldogs eight wins against Division I competition is a
remarkable achievement considering that the team was, and still is
full of Division II athletes who are playing against bigger,
stronger, and more athletic Division I teams.
This year head coach Tim O'Shea has scheduled many of Bryant's non-conference games against teams from big name conferences such as the Big East, the ACC, the Big Ten, and the Ivy League. O'Shea knows that the Bulldogs will lose most of those games, especially now that their leading scorer, rebounder, and all-around best player, Cecil Gresham (15.7 points per game), now seems lost for the season with a knee and shoulder injury. But two of his goals for scheduling his team to play against such tough competition include getting his players to play up to the level of their competition and getting the program noticed for recruiting purposes.
The Ivy League's University of Columbia was in town Saturday afternoon.
Playing in front of a packed house at the Chace Athletic Center, the Bulldogs held their own for most of the game against the Lions even without Graham and 6-foot-8 freshman Claybrin McMath (knee).
But in the end, Columbia proved to be too strong. The Lions beat the Bulldogs, 69-57.
"I thought Bryant had a great game plan," Columbia coach Joe Jones
said. "They ran the shot clock down. They shot, I thought, at a
very good percentage (47.7 percent). I thought [O'Shea] did a very
good job of preparing his guys [even though] they were shorthanded
without their best player."
