November 22, 2008

Boxscore

BULLDOGS KNOCK-OFF BOBCATS, 59-50, AS THEY GRAB FIRST DIVISION I VICTORY

NEW YORK, N.Y.  - Cecil Gresham (Bloomfield, Conn. / MCI) scored a game-high 21 points to help lead Bryant past Quinnipiac, 59-50, to earn its first Division I victory in the Consolation Game of the Tyler Ugolyn Columbia Class Saturday evening. Gresham was named to the All-Tournament team, averaging 23 points per game for the tournament.

Trailing by 11 points with 6:41 to go in the game, the Bobcats used full court pressure to go on a 12-3 run and cut the Bryant lead to two at 51-49 with 2:27 to go in the ballgame.

Following a timeout by head coach Tim O'Shea, the Bulldogs got a huge basket on a pick and roll with Chris Birrell (Scituate, R.I. / Scituate) finding Barry Latham (Taunton, Mass. / Marianapolis) for a lay-up as the shot clock expired, pushing the Bryant lead to four.

After a Quinnipiac free throw made the score 53-50, Bryant once again broke the press, as Andrew Lyell (Portsmouth, R.I. / Portsmouth) hit a wide open Jerrann Wright (Cincinnati, Ohio / Dater) for a drive and score to give Bryant a five point lead with 1:26 to go.

Another Bulldog stop and Latham rebound gave Bryant possession with just over a minute to go. Bryant was able to hold the ball and waste the shot clock down till the final seconds when Lyell hit a leaning three pointer to put the game away and send the squad celebrating into the locker room at Levien Gymnasium.

Lyell finished the game with eight points and a team-high eight rebounds.

The Bulldogs got off to a hot start shooting 55 percent from the floor in the first half including 50 percent from behind the three point arc, as they went into the locker room with the 31-25 advantage, they're first lead at the break this season.

An early 8-2 run sparked Bryant s as they grabbed a 15-9 advantage thanks to six early points from Gresham on 2-2 shooting from downtown. Gresham finished the half with 14 points to lead all scorers while shooting a perfect 5-5 from the field on 4-4 from three. The junior finished shooting 7-for-8 from the floor.

Gresham also got help from Birrell who scored eight first half points on 2-for-4 shooting from downtown.

Defensively the Bulldogs used an active zone defense to hold the Bobcats to just 34.5 percent shooting from the floor in the first half. Quinnipiac finished the half with 12 offensive rebounds and held a 23 to 10 advantage on the boards, but were only able to manage five second chance points.

The Bulldogs continued to play stingy defense in the second half, as they held the Bobcats to just 35 percent shooting from the field (18-51). Only Justin Rutty and James Feldeine would record double figures, registering 15 and 13 points respectively.

The Bulldogs travel to Hartford, Connecticut to take on the number two ranked Connecticut Huskies at the XL Center (1 p.m.).