Final Statistics
SMITHFIELD, RI --
Mario Correia (Brockton, Mass.) scored a career-high 28 points while backcourt teammate
John Williams (Springfield, Mass.) added 21 points as the Bryant men's basketball won for the tenth-straight time, upsetting second-place and 24th-ranked Saint Anselm, 76-63 before 1,323 fans at the Chace Athletic Center Saturday afternoon.
Saint Anselm (19-5, 14-5 NE-10), ranked No. 3 in the Northeast Region, fell behind midway through the first half and never recovered as the Bulldogs took a comfortable 43-30 lead into the locker room at the half. Bryant shot a blistering 51.5 percent from the floor in the first half and made 9 of 16 three-point field goals (56.3 percent) in the first half alone. The Bulldogs finished with 12 three's in the game, three shy of the school record.
Saint Anselm, which entered the game as the top scoring team in the conference with an average of 80.9 points per game, closed to within six on a jumper by
Jim Holsworth, making it 43-37. But a three-pointer by
Nathaniel Sudlow (Brooklyn, NY) and a layup by
Mike Williams (Ellington, Conn.) pushed the Bryant lead to 50-39 and the Bulldogs never looked back.
Correia (right), who had 21 points on Tuesday in the team's win over Le Moyne, made 11 of 20 shots from the floor, including 4-for-7 from behind the three-point stripe plus added eight rebounds. Correia, honored prior to the start of the game during Senior Day festivities, had a pair of assists plus three steals and no turnovers.
John Williams was also red-hot from the outside. The junior guard made 8 of 14 attempts including five 3-point field goals. During one stretch early, Williams made four consecutive 3-pointers to give the Bulldogs a 26-17 lead in the first half.
The Bulldogs finished the game shooting 50.8 percent and got 14 points and 11 rebounds from senior
Mike Williams.
Jim Moore led Saint Anselm with 22 points on 8 of 14 shooting from the floor. Holsworth finished with 10 points as the Hawks were held to 39.7 percent shooting.
Bryant (17-6, 13-6 NE-10), ranked 6th in last week's Northeast Region, has not lost since falling to Merrimack back on Jan. 11.
The Bulldogs will return to action on Wednesday when they travel to Saint Michael's while Saint Anselm will return home to host Assumption next Wednesday in Manchester, N.H.
