Box Score December 29. 2008
Box Score
MOUNT ST. MARY'S DROPS BRYANT,
68-44, MONDAY NIGHT
EMMITSBURG, MARY.- The Bryant University men's basketball team
could not find its shooting stroke Monday night at Knott Arena as
the Bulldogs fell, 68-44, to Mount St. Mary's.
The Mountaineers (4-8), preseason favorites to win the NEC,
played hard-nosed defense for the full 40 minutes, holding Bryant
to just 24.5 percent shooting from the floor to help them snap a
six-game losing skid. The Bulldogs lost their ninth straight,
finishing up a five game road trip before finally heading back to
Smithfield.
A slow offensive half put the Bulldogs (1-11) in an early hole,
as high-pressure defense from Mount St. Mary's held Bryant to just
17 first half points, giving The Mount a 35-17 advantage at the
break.
The Bulldogs hung in early, as Cecil Gresham
(Bloomfield, Conn. / MCI) and Adam Parzych
(Lindenhurst, N.Y. / Lindenhurst) knocked down
back-to-back three's to bring Bryant to within one point, trailing
12-11 with 11:12 to go in the first frame. Gresham had four points
at the break while Nick Pontes (New Bedford, Mass. / New
Bedford) led the way with six.
But, the Mountaineers would respond with a 12-0 run over the
next six minutes to expand the lead to 13. Jean Cajou led the way
for The Mount, scoring six of his 11 first half points during that
span. Cajou finished with a game-high 16.
An Andrew Lyell (Portsmouth, R.I. / Portsmouth)
three would get Bryant back to within 10 at 24-14, but that would
be as close as the Bulldogs would get. Bryant hit three from
downtown in the first half, but shot just 20.8 percent from the
floor and were held to five total field goals.
Lyell did a solid job on the boards, grabbing three to lead the
team in the half as Bryant held their own against the Mountaineers,
trailing 18-14 in the rebounding category.
On the other side, Mount St. Mary's went 15-30 in the first half
from the floor with seven different players getting on the score
sheet, showing off a very balanced attack.
The second half was more of the same story for Bryant, as the
shots just were not falling in Emmitsburg. The Bulldogs made eight
field goals in the second half while hitting three more from behind
the arc, finishing the contest shooting 24.5 percent from the floor
and hitting six of their 13 total field goals from downtown.
The two teams would go back-and-forth the start the half, with
Bryant trailing by 17 with 12:57 left in the game. The Mount then
went on a 9-1 run to push the lead up to 25 with less than 10 to
go. The Mountaineers would lead by as much as 27 in the game.
Pontes continued to show his inside scoring ability, scoring six
more in the second half as he finished with a team-high 12 points
while grabbing four rebounds. Freshman guard Sam Leclerc
(Fayette, Maine / Winthrop) had another strong outing,
hitting three three's (nine points) to go along with three rebounds
and two assists.
Bryant put together a late 7-0 to cut the deficit to 20 with
under two minutes to play, getting a three from Leclerc, a two from
Gresham and a pair of free throws from Ryan McLean
(Plymouth, Mass. / Plymouth North).
The Bulldogs will return home to play the second game of a
double-header with the women's team as they take on the Yale
Bulldogs at the Chace Center on January 2nd (4 p.m.).
