February 25, 2010

BRYANT MEN FALL TO ST. FRANCIS (NY) 69-60 IN OT

boxscore

SMITHFIELD, R.I - Raphael Jordan (Bel Air, Md.) scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds but it was not enough as visiting St. Francis (NY) rallied late in regulation after trailing the entire game and pulled out a 69-60 overtime win over Bryant University in Northeast Conference action Thursday night.

Bryant led nearly the entire game but struggled from the perimeter allowing the visiting Terriers, losers of four straight, to rally back.  A Ricky Cadell long jumper with 3:32 left tied the game at 50-50 and after a Bulldog foul at the other end resulted in a pair of free throws for Justin Newton who gave the visitors their first lead of the game, 52-50 with 2:53 left.

Bryant led 48-39 behind back-to-back three's from Chris Birrell (Scituate, R.I.) with 11 minutes left.  From there, Bryant managed just one basket from the field, a Barry Latham (Taunton, Mass.) banker high off the glass with 9:20 left.

But the Bulldogs were still in it and took advantage of a late missed free throw to force the extra period.  SFNY's Akeem Bennett missed the front end of a one-and-one and Jordan drove the lane and drew a foul with 26 seconds left.  Jordan sank both and Papa Lo (Thiess, Senegal) swatted away a last-second attempt by Bennett with eight seconds left sending the game into overtime.

But in the extra period, the Terriers would out-scored the Bulldogs 17-8 and pull away for the win. Cadell finished with 21 to lead St. Francis (NY).

The Bulldogs played a strong opening half, never trailing and getting a lift by the play of Jordan as the Bulldogs took a 35-26 lead into the locker room at the break.  Jordan scored 14 first half points highlighted by a fade-away three while drawing a foul. The Bulldog newcomer would hit the free throw for the rare four-point play. 

Bryant opened the half making four of its first six shots from the field, but the Bulldogs would miss seven-straight shots for just over 10 minutes, but maintained the lead thanks to good ball movement and penetration that resulted in getting to the line 19 times that would result in 16 made free throws.

Bryant will close out the 2009-10 season Saturday hosting Long Island University at the Chace Athletic Center.  Tipoff is at 3:30 p.m.  Seniors Latham and Birrell will be honored prior to the start of the game.