January 13, 2010

BRYANT RETURNS HOME, LOOKS FOR FIRST WIN OF SEASON AGAINST SACRED HEART THURSDAY NIGHT (7:30 P.M.)

Game Notes / Watch Live! / Listen Live! / Live Stats

SMITHFIELD, R.I. -- The Bryant University men's basketball team returns home for the first time since December 12, 2009 to host its first-ever Northeast Conference home matchup Thursday against Sacred Heart at the Chace Athletic Center. This will be just the third home contest for the Black and Gold this season, and Thursday's game will be carried live on WOON 1240-AM and www.bryantbulldogs.tv.

THE SERIES
Bryant has faced off against the Pioneers more than any other team in the Northeast Conference, with the exception of Quinnipiac. A Division II power until making the transition to Division I in 1999-00, Sacred Heart owns a 10-8 edge in the all-time series, just two of those bouts coming at the Division I level (last season). In 2008-09, the Bulldogs dropped a pair of meetings with SHU, falling at home, 73-64, exactly a year ago (Jan. 14, 2009) before taking a 90-60 defeat in Fairfield, Conn. on Feb. 28, 2009.  

Cecil Gresham (Bloomfield, Conn.), Nick Pontes (New Bedford, Mass.) and Chris Birrell (Scituate, R.I.) each posted double-figure scoring days in the programs' first meeting of 2008-09, with Gresham's 17 points leading the way. Gresham chipped in 10 more in the teams' February meeting while Barry Latham (Taunton, Mass.) dished out five assists, a feat now-sophomore Sam Leclerc (Fayette, Maine) achieved when the teams met in January.

SCOUTING THE PIONEERS
The Bulldogs will have to commit a good deal of attention to Sacred Heart senior Corey Hassan, who leads the NEC with a 21.2 points per game average that ranks 13th in the nation among all DI players. One of the best all-around players in the league, Hassan is second on the team in rebounding average (8.2 rpg) and third in assists (34) while pacing the Pioneers in steals (23) and shooting 44.1 percent from the field. Complimented nicely by senior Ryan Litke's 42 percent shooting from beyond the arc (47-112), Hassan is also one of the team's top sharpshooters from long range, converting on 39.8 percent (53-133) of treys. Liam Potter leads SHU on the glass, averaging 8.5 boards per outing and posts a league-best 38 blocks (2.53 bpg) while shooting 43.9 percent from the floor (50-114). Jerrell Thompson works the ball around well, pacing the team with 71 assists so far on the year while Litke and Chauncey Hardy each chip in double-digit scoring averages, with 14.5 ppg and 14.1 ppg, respectively. The teams have played four common opponents so far this season, including non-conference matchups against Columbia and Brown, both of which SHU won.  

BRYANT vs. THE NORTHEAST CONFERENCE
Bryant is 0-4 against its home conference in 2009-10, having played its first official game against the NEC back on December 3, 2009 when the Bulldogs fell to LIU, 62-46. The Bulldogs played St. Francis (NY) two days later and despite leading with 2:00 to play, fell to the Terriers in heartbreaking fashion, 54-48. Last weekend, Bryant dropped two more road outings against league opponents, taking a 66-50 defeat at the hands of FDU before suffering a heartbreaking 67-62 loss to Monmouth Saturday night. Bryant continues on with its full league slate in 2010 after going 6-8 against NEC members last season, taking wins over Quinnipiac (twice), LIU, Fairleigh Dickinson, Saint Francis (PA) and Monmouth. All-time against current Northeast Conference opponents, the Bulldog basketball program is 34-64, having most frequently played former Northeast-10 Conference (DII) members Quinnipiac (16-35).  

LAST TIME OUT
The Bryant University men's basketball team played with heart and determination throughout a game that featured six lead changes and six ties, but in the end the Bulldogs would suffer another heartbreaking defeat as Northeast Conference foe Monmouth University scored seven unanswered points to take the lead with just two minutes to play and close out a 67-62 victory.  

The Bulldogs shot 45 percent from the field and an even 40 percent from beyond the arc. Leading the way was freshman Vlad Kondratyev (Nikolayev, Ukraine) with 15 points on 6-of-10 shooting while senior Adam Parzych (Lindenhurst, N.Y.) added 14 points on 4-for-8 shooting from 3-point range and 2-for-2 accuracy from the line. Junior Michael Chroney (Nashua, N.H.) also played a well-balance game, scoring five points and pulling down a team-best six rebounds while posting a trio of new career marks. The walk-on-turned-starter dished out a career-high eight assists against the Hawks, also boasting a career-best three blocks and playing a career-high 40 minutes.  

The Hawks were led by Will Campbell and his ability to make clutch shots when it mattered most. Campbell scored 19 points and hit the two biggest shots of the game for Monmouth while going 5-for-8 from 3-point range. Bigman Travis Taylor added 16 points for the home side and pulled down seven rebounds. Rutgers transfer and sharpshooter Justin Sofman added 11 points of his own while senior center Dutch Gaitley pulled down 11 boards for the Hawks.  

After passing the ball around the key in the waning seconds of the first half, the Bulldogs were able to find Chroney all alone in the corner. The junior took the long range shot and knotted the score at 37-37 with just 25 seconds left in the frame. Seven Bryant players scored in the opening session including Chroney, who had five points and two steals and added six first-half assists. Kondratyev led the way for Bryant with nine points on 3-for-5 shooting from the field at the half. Senior Nick Pontes (New Bedford, Mass.) also provided a spark for the Bulldogs, going 3-for-3 from the field for six points in only eight minutes of play.  

The battle continued in the second half as each team traded baskets over the first 15 minutes of period. The Bulldogs were able to take the lead once in that timeframe and were never down more the six in the span. However, it was at the 4:46 mark when freshman Erick Smith (Bel Air, Md.) and the Bulldogs silenced the crowd.  

Following a Sofman 3-point attempt, Chroney gathered the long rebound and sent a high-arching pass upcourt to a streaking Smith. The speedy guard snatched the ball out of the air and managed to put up an acrobatic layup as he was fouled hard by Sofman. As Smith fell to the ground and the whistle blew, the ball trickled around the rim and joined Smith on the ground, sliding through the net for the basket. Smith hit his ensuing free throw to give Bryant the 62-60 lead.  

Unfortunately, Smith's free throw would be the last Bulldog point, and at the 3:22 mark, Gaitley hit one of two free throws for the Hawks to bring MU back to within one. Then, with two minutes remaining, Campbell's ability to make the bigtime shots had its chance to shine. The 5-foot-10 guard hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with exactly two minutes left in the game to give the Hawks a two-point lead. After the Bulldogs missed two 3-point attempts on consecutive possessions, Campbell struck again. With 15 seconds left and a two-point advantage, he launched another long-range shot from the top of the key, draining the basket for the five-point, 67-62 win as the crowd of nearly 1,000 erupted.  

UP NEXT
Bryant hosts back-to-back games for the first time this season and will welcome Quinnipiac University to the Chace Athletic Center for a 3:30 p.m. matchup on Saturday, January 16. The Bulldogs topped the Bobcats twice last season, one of those victories marking the program's first Division I win (November 22, 2008).  

SWEET SIXTEEN
Rookie Vlad Kondratyev has recorded four-straight double-digit point performances dating back to a December 28, 2009 game against Indiana University. During his current run, the frosh forward has not just twice tied his career high mark of 15 points, he also set a new one, posting 16 points on 7-for-15 shooting against NEC rival Fairleigh Dickinson on January 7. Those seven baskets marked a new career number for Kondratyev, as did his 15 field goals attempted. The 6-foot-8 rookie went on to put up 15 more points two days later against Monmouth, spending a career-high 29 minutes on the court while shooting 60 percent (6-10) from the floor. It was the third time this season Kondratyev scored 15 points, the previous two occasions coming against Cornell on January 2, where he went 6-for-9 from the floor and 3-for-4 from the free throw line, and against Long Island University back on December 3, when he set what was then a career high, going 6-of-12 from the field and 2-for-2 from the charity stripe. Kondratyev, now the Bulldogs' leading scorer at 6.9 points per game, has five double-digit point performances on the season, also collecting 10 points at Indiana.