January 29, 2009

SHARP-SHOOTING COLONIALS GET PAST BULLDOGS, 72-47, THURSDAY NIGHT

Boxscore

MOON TOWNSHIP, PA. - The Bryant University men's basketball fell, 72-47, to Robert Morris Thursday night, as the Colonials shot a sizzling 58.1 percent from the floor and 47.4 percent from three-point land to win their eighth straight game. The Bulldogs fell to 3-4 against NEC opponents with the loss and 4-17 overall.

The Colonials, arguably the most talented team in the Northeast Conference, were coming off consecutive games in which they established an NEC league record for margin of victory after defeating Fairleigh Dickinson by 34 and Wagner by 48. The squad is a perfect 8-0 in January with just one game remaining on Saturday against Monmouth.

Robert Morris started off with some hot shooting, going 68.2 percent from the floor, including 5-for-10 from beyond the three-point arc to take a, 41-22, lead into the locker room at the half. Bateko Francisco led all scorers with 10 points at the break, going 2-for-3 from the outside.

The Bulldogs jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead on the first-place team in the Northeast Conference, following a three from Andrew Lyell (Portsmouth, R.I. / Portsmouth) and a two in the lane from Nick Pontes (New Bedford, Mass. / New Bedford) with 16:58 left.

The Colonials would respond with an 8-0 run of their own, getting a pair of treys from Jimmy Langhurst and Gary Wallace to help spark an offense that has averaged nearly 80 points a game during their winning streak.

A driving lay-in by Adam Parzych (Lindenhurst, N.Y. / Lindenhurst) knotted the game at ten apiece with 12:53 remaining in the first frame, but that would be as close as they Bulldogs would come. Parzych had four at the break while Pontes paced the offense with eight.

Robert Morris then used an 18-2 run over the next 4:24 to take control of the game, holding a 28-12 advantage with 8:12 remaining. Langhurst had six in that stretch while Francisco added five and Mezie Nwigwe contributed four.

The outside touch continued for the Colonials in the second half, as Langhurst connected on two three's over the first six minutes, sparking a 15-4 Robert Morris run to extend the lead to as much as 30 at 56-26 with 14:05 to go.

Bryant showed more second-half resolve, responding with their own 13-3, coming as close as 59-39 following a Cecil Gresham (Bloomfield, Conn. / MCI) with 7:28 remaining on the clock.

Sam Leclerc (Fayette, Maine / Winthrop) and Parzych also knocked-down treys as part of the run. Leclerc finished with seven points, going 2-for-3 from behind the arc, and grabbed three boards while playing in 27 minutes.

Parzych followed up a career-game against Long Island, where he scored 12 points and had three assists, with another solid performance tallying seven points and a career-best four helpers. Pontes led the team in scoring as the only player in double figures with ten.

A pair of free throws from Chris Birrell (Scituate, R.I. / Scituate) kept the deficit at 22 with 5:24 left. Robert Morris would make one more 6-0 run to push the lead to 28 with 3:14 left, before Leclerc connected on another three.

Bryant was held to 34.9 percent from the floor, knocking down seven three's in the contest including going 5-for-10 in the second half from downtown. The Bulldogs were only outscored by a narrow, 31-25, margin in the final 20 minutes.

Bryant will look to bounce-back as they take a short trip to Loretto, Pennsylvania to take on St. Francis (PA) on Saturday night (7 pm).