Wednesday, November 19, 2008

BRYANT UNIVERSITY FALLS TO ALBANY, 76-67, IN INAUGURAL DIVISION I SEASON OPENER

Boxscore

SMITHFIELD, R.I.  - Despite strong shooting in the opening minutes and the season's first double-double from sophomore Barry Latham (Taunton, Mass.), the Bryant University men's basketball team fell in its first-ever Division I contest, 76-67, to the University at Albany in the Chace Athletic Center.

The Bulldogs took an early edge over the visiting Great Danes, 5-2 and went up 9-4 after junior Nick Pontes (New Bedford, Mass.) got the ball on the right side of the net, downing a jumper with pressure all the way around.

An 11-3 Albany run in the latter half of the opening frame put the Bulldogs down, 30-19 with 4:19 to play.

Tough Albany defense contributed to a number of forced Bryant shots and turnovers throughout the frame, while junior Cecil Gresham (Bloomfield, Conn.) paced the Bulldogs at the half with nine points. Both teams shot better than 40 percent in the first 20 minutes, with the Bulldogs besting Albany, 45.0 to 43.8 percent.

Freshman Sam Leclerc (Fayette, Maine) made it 48-30 with the first bucket of his Bryant career - a three-pointer at the 14:54 mark of the second frame - while a Latham trey at 12:24 cut what was a 23-point Albany lead to a 52-34 tally. Peter Lambert (Cumberland, R.I.) also chipped in from beyond the arc, cutting Bryant's deficit to 15 with a three with 11:03 left on the clock.

Latham narrowed the Albany edge to 68-57 with a big three-pointer with 3:08 left to play, and a Great Dane foul in the double-bonus allowed him to add another to cut the tally to a 10-point difference.

A trey from junior Chris Birrell (Scituate, R.I.) got the Bulldogs within single digits, 70-61, with 1:20 left to play, and Latham kept them there with a dunk off a great Birrell feed with just 13 seconds left, 76-67.

Latham's double-double paced the home team, as he recorded a team-best 20 points and collected a game-high 11 rebounds in a 7-for-13 performance from the floor. Birrell and Gresham also recorded double-digit scoring with 12 points apiece.

On the game, the teams were nearly even from the floor, with Albany edging the Bulldogs, 46.6 to 46.0 percent. The Danes also outboarded Bryant, 37-31 on the night.