BRYANT MEN FALL TO STONEHILL 77-59 WEDNESDAY
NIGHT
Box score
EASTON, Mass. - The Bryant University men's basketball team got
off to a tough start - both offensively and defensively as the
Bulldogs fell behind and never recovered as the Bulldogs dropped a
77-59 decision at Stonehill College Wednesday night in Northeast-10
Conference action.
Bryant (5-4, 4-3 NE-10) dug themselves a big hole in the first
half as the Skyhawks came out hitting from all over the
court. Sophomore Nick Smith, the Northeast-10
Conference Player of the Week, scored 17 points in the first half
en route to posting a career-high 29 points on the night for the
host Skyhawks.
The game wasn't five minutes old and Bryant found itself
trailing 15-2 as Smith drained a pair of three's and AJ Rudowitz
scored down low behind the Bryant defense. Smith was unconscious
from the floor, shooting a blistering 10 for 13 from the field
including 5 of 7 from three-point range.
Stonehill (6-3, 4-3 NE-10) led 28-8 with under nine minutes left
before Dan Hammond (Brunswick, Maine) hit a jumper
from the top of the key and Chris Burns (Merrimack,
NH) drained a baseline three to make it 28-13 but
Stonehill finished the half strong to take a 38-22 lead into the
locker room at the half.
The Bulldogs played with more energy in the second half, pulling
to within 12 points (43-31) on a three by Hammond with 16:59 left,
but Stonehill hit two more three's and stretched the lead to 54-31
on a three by Smith minutes later and the Skyhawks were never
threatened the rest of the way.
Burns led Bryant with 20 points (5 three's) while Hammond had 13
points and five rebounds before fouling out in the final
minutes. Bryant shot just 34.4 percent from the floor while
Stonehill made better than half of their shots, shooting 51.9
percent including 10 of 24 from three-point range.
Bryant will be off for 16 days before returning to action
December 29 hosting the Comfort Suites Holiday Tournament at the
Chace Athletic Center. Bryant will face Le Moyne on the
29th at 5 p.m. and Bridgeport on Dec. 30 at 3 p.m.
