November 29, 2009

BULLDOGS LOOK TO GET FIRST WIN OF SEASON AGAINST ARMY ON THE ROAD MONDAY NIGHT (7 PM)  

Game Notes / Live Stats

SMITHFIELD, R.I. -- The Bryant University men's basketball team hits the road again in search of its first win of the 2009-10 season, taking on Army in West Point, N.Y. at 7 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 30.

THE PARTICULARS
The Bulldogs return from their four-day Thanksgiving Break to travel to West Point, N.Y., still in search of their first win of the 2009-10 season. Bryant will take on Army for the second-straight season, closing out November with a 7 p.m. contest on Monday, Nov. 30.

THE SERIES
The Bulldogs and the Black Knights have met twice in the history of the programs. Army has topped the Black and Gold in both matchups, most recently handing the Bulldogs a 59-48 setback last season (Dec. 8, 2008). The teams first met in the 1978-79 season, a game the Black Knights won, 76-61. In last year's meeting between these two sides, the Bulldogs were led by a game-best 14 points and contest-high seven boards from Cecil Gresham (Bloomfield, Conn.), who shot 5-of-10 from the floor, including a 4-for-6 mark from long distance.

SCOUTING THE BLACK KNIGHTS
Army enters Monday night's game riding a four-game winning streak, having most recently topped Yale University, 64-48, Saturday afternoon. The Black Knights got 18 points from Cleveland Richard, who averages a team-best 14.2 points per game on the year, while Jeremy Hence came off the bench to chip in 10 points in the win. On the season, Julian Simmons joins Richard in averaging double-digit points (12.2 ppg), while Hence leads on the glass, pulling down 5.8 rebounds per contest. Marcus Nelson's seven blocks are a team best while Richard (18) and Hence (17) dish out the most helpers for the Black Knights.

BRYANT vs. THE PATRIOT LEAGUE
The contest against Army will be the Bulldogs' second matchup against a Patriot League opponent in the 2009-10 season, having fallen to Bucknell University, 59-56, in the closing game of the World Vision Invitational on opening weekend. Bryant is 0-3 all-time against current Patriot League members and have only matched up against the Black Knights (0-2) and the Bison (0-1).

LAST TIME OUT
Bryant took a 38-28 lead into the halftime break after a strong opening half, but a brief defensive lapse in the second frame was enough to hand the Bulldogs their fifth loss of the season in heartbreaking fashion, 70-68, at the hands of crosstown rival Brown in Wednesday night's 2009-10 home opener.

After a first frame that saw the Bulldogs shoot at a 50 percent clip (15-of-30), the Bears had the hot hands to open the second half. Bryant's lead dwindled to just three, 42-39, less than four minutes into the final half, and while the home side rebuilt its advantage to eight points in the following three minutes, Brown would tie the game at 52-52 with 11:32 showing on the clock.

From there the teams would trade leads before Brown finally got out ahead, taking a 67-58 advantage with just 4:36 to play in the contest. But the Bulldogs would rally, chipping away at the Brown lead until a basket by Raphael Jordan (Bel Air, Md.) and four free throws by Adam Parzych (Lindenhurst, N.Y.) brought the home side back to within three with 1:30 left.

And with just 40 seconds showing on the clock, senior Nick Pontes (New Bedford, Mass.) would get fouled on a tip-in after a Parzych miss, knocking down a game-tying free throw to knot the game at 68-68. But a Garrett Leffelman putback with just 0.3 seconds to play would give the Bears a 70-68 lead that would go final.

Senior Cecil Gresham (Bloomfield, Conn.) led four Bulldogs in double-figures with a team-high 16 points off 5-of-11 shooting from the field, including converting 4-of-7 from 3-point range, while junior Barry Latham (Taunton, Mass.) chipped in 14 points and recorded the team's only block of the contest. Pontes and freshman Raphael Jordan (Bel Air, Md.) added 13 points apiece as well, while Pontes also added a game-best 10 rebounds to record his first and the team's first double-double of the season. Senior Chris Birrell (Scituate, R.I.) handed out a game-high six assists.

The Bulldogs shot 46.3 percent as a team, including converting on 50 percent of shots in the first half. Bryant also outrebounded its opponent for the first time this season, pulling down 39 boards to Brown's 30.

UP NEXT
The Bulldogs open up Northeast Conference play when they travel to New York City to take on Long Island University on Thursday, Dec. 3. at 7:30 p.m. The game will be the first official NEC contest in Bryant basketball history, as the Bulldogs are included  in the league standings for the first time in 2009-10. The Black and Gold went 1-1 against the Blackbirds last season.

FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING
Bryant produced a number of firsts in its narrow defeat at the hands of Brown Wednesday night. The 70-68 loss represented the first time in the 2009-10 season that the Bulldogs: scored first in a game (jumper from Cecil Gresham 29 seconds into the contest), outshot their opponent (54-50), outrebounded their opponent (39-30) and  led at the half (38-28).

BABY GRAND
Senior Cecil Gresham (Bloomfield, Conn.) returns to the Bulldogs in 2009-10 looking to repeat his star performance from last season. And while last season's numbers were remarkable, this Bulldog has been at the top of the game for his entire Bryant career. Over his three years in Smithfield so far, Gresham has appeared in 95 games, starting in 74 and averages 26.1 minutes per outing. He has racked up 381 rebounds, 29 blocks, 85 assists and 49 steals, but those numbers are nothing compared to the career benchmark he is fast approaching. Through the first five games of the season, Gresham has 959 points to his name and needs just 41 more to become the 31st 1,000-point scorer in Bryant men's basketball history. Gresham currently sits at No. 31 on the all-time career points list. 

So far this season, Gresham paces the Bulldog offense, averaging 15.0 points per game. The senior broke out against Bucknell, hitting at a .563 clip (9-16) for a game-best 26 points and going 4-for-7 from long range. He has two blocks on the season and is shooting 39.1 percent from the floor.

TV STARS
The Bryant men will make a pair of appearances on regional television this season. The Bulldogs will appear on Fox College Sports (FCS), Madison Square Garden TV (MSG) and Fox Sports Network-Pittsburgh, also appearing on the BIG TEN Network as well as ESPN Full Court. Bryant will first appear in living rooms when it travels to Brooklyn, N.Y. on December 5 (12 p.m. start) for a conference game against St. Francis (NY), where Fox College Sports and MSG will carry the broadcast. FSN-Pittsburgh, FCS and ESPN Full Court will be on hand at the Chace Athletic Center when the league opponents Bryant and Saint Francis (PA) meet on February 11, 2009 (7 p.m. start). Both games will be carried locally on Cox Sports-3 in Rhode Island and Eastern Connecticut. Bryant will also appear on the BIG-TEN Network for the second year in a row when the team travels to Indiana on Dec. 28 for a 9 pm (EST) game against the Hoosiers. Last year, Bryant made its debut on the BIG-10 Network when the Bulldogs took on the University of Iowa.