November 21, 2008

Boxscore

BULLDOGS FALL TO LIONS, 70-54, IN ROUND ONE OF COLUMBIA CLASSIC

NEW YORK, N.Y.  - Junior guard Patrick Foley scored 20 points on 8-for-12 shooting from the floor to pace Columbia (2-1) to a 70-54 victory over Bryant Friday night in the first round of the Tyler Ugolyn Columbia Classic. The Bulldogs will play Quinnipiac Saturday night in round two, as the Bobcats fell to UMBC 75-71.

Bryant (0-2) came out of the gate slow, starting off the contest trailing 11-4 at the first media timeout thanks to seven points from Foley. Foley would finish the half with 13 points on 5-for-6 shooting from the floor.

The Bulldogs would continue to fight throughout the first half, going on a short 4-0 run to close the gap to three. Chris Birrell (Scituate, R.I. / Scituate) would be the catalyst over the first nine minutes of the game, scoring four of the Bulldogs' eight points as they trailed, 11-8, at the 11:12 mark.

After Columbia brought their lead to 16-8, Cecil Gresham (Bloomfield, Conn. / MCI) brought Bryant back into the game scoring six straight points on a free throw, three-pointer and a two point jump shot to get Bryant as close as two at 16-14. Gresham ended the half with 16 points, including the last eight for the Bulldogs, on 4-of-9 shooting from the floor and a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe. The junior finished with a game-high 25 points.

Columbia used hot shooting from the floor to extend the lead before the half as Joe Bova and Noruwa Agho connected on back-to-back three point field goals, putting the score at 22-14 with eight minutes left in the half. The Lions would shoot 60 percent from the floor in the first half (15-25) and go 4-for-9 from beyond the arc.

After Bryant closed the lead to six with 3:06 to play, Columbia would end the half on a 9-4, highlighted by a leaner from just inside the three point line by Foley to beat the buzzer and give the Lions a 39-28 halftime lead.

The Lions opened up a 14-point lead in the second half after Steve Egee hit a jumper in the lane with 13 minutes to go. Columbia would push the lead to as high as 19 in the second half.

Andrew Lyell (Portsmouth, R.I. / Northfield Mt. Herman) and Gresham would hit back-to-back threes to close the gap to eight with 10:41 remaining in the game, but that is as close as the Bulldogs would get. Lyell came off the bench to score five second half points while also leading the team with five boards.

Columbia closed out Bryant with a 13-4 run spanning from 10:41 left in the game until the 3:57 mark. The Lions ended the game shooting 56 percent from the floor, compared to 36 percent for the Bulldogs.

Sophomore walk-on Mike Chroney (Nashua, N.H. / Nashua South) recorded his first collegiate point on a free throw with 1:03 to go in the game. Chroney also recorded a block and a rebound. The free throw would be the last points of the ballgame as the Bulldogs fell by a final of 70-54.

The Bulldogs will play game two of the Tyler Ugolyn Columbia Classic tomorrow night at 6 p.m. when they take on Quinnipiac.