BRYANT MEN'S BASKETBALL TRAVELS TO SAINT ANSELM FOR NE-10 QUARTERFINALS TONIGHT
game notes (pdf format)
THE GAME
Sixth-seeded Bryant University travels to Manchester, N.H. Monday night to face third-seed Saint Anselm in a quarterfinal game of the 2005 Northeast-10 Conference tournament. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. Bryant (20-7) is coming off a 60-57 win over 11th-seed Franklin Pierce in Smithfield, RI on Saturday afternoon while Saint Anselm earned a first-round bye. This is the second straight year Bryant has advanced to the quarterfinal round. Last year, Bryant defeated AIC in the first round and defeated Le Moyne in the quarterfinal before bowing out to eventual champion UMass Lowell in the semis. The winner of the Bryant - Saint Anselm game will face the winner of the quarterfinal matchup of No. 2 Saint Rose and No. 10 Merrimack this Thursday night at 7 p.m. on the campus of the highest remaining seed. Bryant has won 13 of 14.
BRYANT 60, FRANKLIN PIERCE 57
The Bulldogs advanced to the quarterfinal round of the Northeast-10 Conference tournament for the second year in-a-row as the Bulldogs held on down the stretch to defeat Franklin Pierce. A dunk by Nathaniel Sudlow gave Bryant a 54-47 lead with 3:34 left but Sudlow was called for a technical on the dunk and FPC would go on an 8-0 run to take a 55-54 lead on a Justin Powell putback with 2:18 left. John Williams would give the Bulldogs the lead for good as the junior hit a soft, baseline floater with a minute left and the Bulldogs would hit four of six free throws in the closing seconds. John Williams had three three-pointers to give him the school record for three's in a season with 89.
THE BRYANT - SAINT ANSELM MATCHUP
This will be the second meeting of the year between Bryant and Saint Anselm with the Bulldogs winning 76-63 in Smithfield, RI back on Feb. 12. The Bulldogs hit 12 three's in the game with Mario Correia scoring a career-best 28 points. Saint Anselm, the No. 3 seed in the tournament, was led by Jim Moore's 22 points. Since the loss to Bryant, Saint Anselm has gone 2-1 with wins over Assumption and Pace and the lone loss coming in overtime at Saint Rose, 76-74. Moore leads the way with 18.9 ppg while Matt Cahill is next at 16.4 points per game and 55 three's. Jim Holsworth, another sharpshooter, is averaging 14.5 ppg and has made 77 three's. Saint Anselm is averaging 80.0 ppg and have one of the nation's best free throw percentage at 81.1 percent.
BACK TO BACK SUCCESS
In the past two seasons, Bryant has 43 total wins (23 in '03-04 and 20 this season). It marks the most wins in back-to-back seasons in school history. Bryant posted three consecutive 20 win seasons in the early seventies. The 1972-73 team went 20-6 and a year later went 20-8. The following season (1974-75) Bryant went 21-8.
JOHN WILLIAMS SETS NEW SINGLE SEASON 3-POINT MARK
With three 3-point field goals in Saturday's win over Franklin Pierce, junior guard John Williams (Springfield, Mass.) broke Romuald Augustin's (2003-04) school single season record of 87 three's. Williams now has 89 three's this season.
HAMMOND SETS NEW SCHOOL RECORD FOR STEALS
Sophomore forward Dan Hammond (Brunswick, Maine) set a new school record with nine steals in Monday's win at Merrimack. Hammond tied the school record with six in the first half alone and finished with 9 points and 7 rebounds in Bryant's 73-49 win over the Warriors.
CORREIA EARNS WEEKLY HONOR
Senior guard Mario Correia (Brockton, Mass.) was named the Northeast-10 Conference Player of the Week for Feb. 14, the first such honor for a Bryant basketball player this season. Correia had a career-high 28 points and eight rebounds in the team's win over No. 24 Saint Anselm on Saturday. He had 21 points plus eight rebounds in the team's win at Le Moyne on Tuesday night. For the week, Correia averaged 24.5 ppg on 20 of 40 shooting in two games, made 6 of 11 three-point attempts. In Wednesday's game at Saint Michael's, Correia had 22 points, 6 assists, and 5 steals.
BULLDOG BULLETS
* Mike Williams (Ellington, Conn.) is currently No. 3 all-time in career rebounds with 920
* Mike Williams is also 13th all-time with 1,215 career points and 1st with 275 blocks. Williams is the holder of Bryant's blocks in a game (11 vs. Le Moyne), season (90 as a sophomore) and career (275).
* John Williams (Springfield, Mass.) is second in the conference in scoring (19.4 ppg)
BULLDOG BITES
Monday's game at Saint Anselm will be the 116th game coached by Max Good at Bryant. It will also be Good's 363rd as a head coach in 13 seasons ... After posting a 12-3 record at home last season, the Bulldogs are 10-4 this year at the Chace Athletic Center ... The Bulldogs are 10-3 away from home and 8-3 on the road in conference games.
LAST YEAR ENTERING THE NE-10 TOURNAMENT
Bryant was 23-10 OVERALL last year, going 2-1 in the NE-10 tournament and 2-1 in the NCAA tournament. The Bulldogs posted a 14-8 record in conference games. Bryant set a record last year for wins in a season with 23 and conference wins in a season with 14. This year, Bryant is 20-7 overall and posted a new school record with a 15-7 NE-10 record (most conference wins)
