December 05, 2009

FOULS HINDER BULLDOGS, FALL TO ST. FRANCIS (NY), 54-48, DESPITE LATE-GAME LEAD

Boxscore

Brooklyn, N.Y. -- Bryant held a 48-45 edge entering the final two minutes, but early foul trouble would ultimately doom the visiting Bulldogs, as St. Francis (NY) converted 19-of-24 from the line in the second half to complete a 54-48 comeback win in Saturday's Northeast Conference action.

Bryant (0-8, 0-2 NEC) held a seven-point lead through parts of the second half, as late as the 2:55 mark, and held the Terriers (2-5, 1-1) without a basket for over 11-straight minutes in the second frame. But when early foul trouble started sending St. Francis to the line early, the Bulldogs couldn't keep the balance in their favor.

Fouls gave St. Francis seven points off freebies over the basket-less stretch, while the Bulldog offense gave the Black and Gold just a 44-42 advantage. And once the Terriers started scoring again, with 2:17 left to play and the score stuck at 48-42 in Bryant's favor, the Bulldog defense couldn't make the stops they needed, sending the home team to the charity stripe 10 times in the final two minutes. St. Francis would convert on seven of those opportunities while getting 19 points off free throws in the second half alone.

The Terriers shut out the Bulldogs in the final 2:56 of the contest, a stretch where the home team scored 13 points to take its first lead of the half, 49-48, with 40 seconds to play and grow it to six before the score went final.

The Bulldogs were led by senior captain Cecil Gresham (Bloomfield, Conn.), who returned to the lineup for the first time since Nov. 25 to post a team-high 19 points and seven rebounds. Bryant shot 33.3 percent on the day, besting its opponent (31.8), and was outrebounded by just one, 36-35. Gresham went 6-for-18 from the field, all coming from beyond the arc, while freshman Raphael Jordan (Bel Air, Md.) scored 10 points off 2-for-6 shooting from the floor and 6-for-10 conversion from the line. Sophomore Papa Lo (Thies, Senegal) posted two blocks in the game.

Both teams' defenses came out strong to start the game, limiting the quality shots seen by either side through the first minutes of the opening frame. But the Terriers took an early 12-4 lead on the back of four 3-point shots, a trio of them coming from Stefan Perunicic.

The sides stalled at 12-4, and the Bulldogs wouldn't get a basket for the next 7:17, holding the Terriers scoreless for nearly as long (5:41). Bryant pulled within three, 12-9, with 8:18 on the clock after back-to-back scores, the second coming off the first 3-pointer of the day from Gresham.

The Terriers would do much of their scoring in the half from beyond the arc - they went 5-for-10 from long range - but it would be a Gresham trey, his second of six, that would knot the score at 21-21 with just 41 seconds to play before the intermission. After Jordan drove the lane in transition, the rookie guard kicked it outside to Gresham for a wide open look from long range.

Akeem Bennett would give the Terriers a temporary two-point edge on a pair of successful free throws with 15 seconds remaining, but a clutch midrange jumper on the wing from Jordan would retie the game with just five ticks and the score would stay knotted as the teams headed into the locker room at the break.

The Bulldogs shot 39.1 percent in the half to St. Francis (NY)'s 42.1 percent and were led by nine points from junior Barry Latham (Taunton, Mass.).

The Bulldogs opened up a five-point advantage to start the second session, 30-25, getting a pair of treys from Adam Parzych (Lindenhurst, N.Y.) and Gresham, but Kayode Ayeni would net 10 of the Terriers first 12 points to make up the difference and take a one-point edge, 35-34.

Three-consecutive makes from Gresham from downtown boosted the visitors back on top, 40-35, and Chris Birrell (Scituate, R.I.) would add two more points before Bryant allowed the home side another score.

But with the score frozen at 44-39 and Bryant out ahead with just over six minutes to play, the Terriers began to make their charge, aided by Bulldog errors and fouls.

Ayeni collected the game's only double-double, posting a game-high 14 boards and a contest-best 23 points on 5-for-12 shooting from the floor and 12-for-14 shooting from the charity stripe. Bennett also scored in double digits, collecting 13 points off 7-for-8 conversion from the line.

The Bulldogs will take a break from Northeast Conference action for their next six outings, traveling to New Haven, Conn. for their next contest. Bryant will take on Yale on Wednesday, Dec. 9 at 7:30 p.m.