March 1, 2008 

BRYANT MEN DEFEAT SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE 65-57
Bulldogs Advance to NE-10 Quarterfinals Monday at Saint Rose

BOX SCORE 

SMITHFIELD, R.I. - Chris Birrell (Scituate, RI) and Jon Ezeokoli (South Orange, NJ) scored 17 points apiece as the Bryant University men's basketball team pulled away late for a 65-57 win over Southern New Hampshire in Northeast-10 Conference quarterfinal round game.  The Bulldogs will now advance to Monday's quarterfinal round when they travel to Albany, NY Monday to face second-seeded Saint Rose.  Tip-off is at 7 p.m.

Bryant (17-11), the seventh seed of the tournament, led 22-16 following two Ezeokoli free throws.  A strong defensive surge resulted in a Jerrann Wright (Cincinnati, OH) layup inside, a Barry Latham (Taunton, MA) breakaway dunk and three from Ezeokoli as the Bulldogs pulled out to their largest lead of the half, 31-18 with 3:14 remaining in the first half.

Southern New Hampshire (12-16) would use strong second half rebounding to regain the lead as the Penmen, seeded tenth in the tournament, rallied back from a 38-32 deficit at the half to pull in front 47-43 on a basket underneath by workhorse Sam Carey.  Carey finished the night shooting six for 11 for a game-high 18 points.  The senior added nine rebounds to lead the Penmen, six of which came on the offensive glass.

A free throw by Fotis Lioutas gave the visitors their largest lead at 48-43, but the Bulldogs caught a break when SNHU's Gerald Carter (11 pts, seven assists) picked up his fourth foul with 8:15 remaining.  With Carter on the bench, the Bulldogs went to work as a Wright basket in the lane gave the Bulldogs a 56-54 lead and moments later Ezeokoli was on the receiving end of a nice half-court pass from Cecil Gresham (Bloomfield, CT) after a SNHU turnover and the Bulldogs never looked back. 

Bryant made 24 of 32 free throws in the game but were out-rebounded by Southern NH 33 to 28 in the game.  Latham and Wright both had 10 points in the game. 

Bryant fell to Saint Rose 85-72 in the only meeting of the year between the two schools in Albany, NY back on Jan. 5.  The NE-10 semifinals will be on Thursday with the championship scheduled Saturday at the highest remaining seed.