Men's Basketball Holds On To Edge Ravens, 60-57
Box Score
SMITHFIELD, RI -- John Williams scored a game-high 22 points and sophomore Chris Burns added 10 points off the bench to help lead the Bryant University men's basketball team to a 60-57 win over Franklin Pierce in first round action of the 2005 Northeast-10 Conference tournament at the Chace Athletic Center Saturday afternoon.
Bryant (20-7), the sixth-seed of the tournament, advances to face third-seed Saint Anselm on Monday in Manchester, N.H. (7 p.m.). Franklin Pierce, led by Justin Powell's 19 and Mitchell Johnson's 14, concludes its season at 9-19.
In a tightly contested game that saw 12 lead changes and eight ties, the outcome would not be decided until a driving baseline lay-up by John Williams with a minute left that gave the Bulldogs a 56-55 lead.
Bryant led 54-47 following a dunk by Nathaniel Sudlow with 3:34 left, but the Bulldog sophomore was whistled for a technical foul for hanging on the rim, sparking the Ravens, who capitalize on the technical and rattle off an 8-0 run to take its first lead since late in the first half.
Franklin Pierce finally took the lead, 55-54 after Powell scored on a put-back following a three-point miss by Johnson with 2:18 left. The Ravens scored six of those points during a 26-second span, but the Bulldogs would answer.
Following a miss by Johnson in the lane, the Bulldogs worked the ball to John Williams in the corner and found an opening for a quick pull-up jumper to put the Bulldogs the lead back for good. Bryant would close out the game making four of six free throws down the stretch.
The Bulldogs finished the game shooting 44.2 percent from the floor and just 6 for 21 from three-point range. Franklin Pierce shot 42.1 percent and turned the ball over 15 times in the game.
