PROVIDENCE, R.I. – It was only the fourth meeting all-time, and third since moving to Division I, but this time it was a little different.

Two years ago, the Bryant men's basketball team trailed from start to finish in the season opener at the Dunkin' Donuts Center.  But on Saturday afternoon, the Bulldogs not only showed how far they have come in such a short time, but gave the host Friars more than they could handle before falling, 72-61, in the final minutes.

Alex Francis (Harlem, N.Y.) paced the Bulldogs with 17 points and 13 rebounds, his third double-double of the year and the 11th of his career for the sophomore forward.  Sophomore Dan Calandrillo (Leonardo, N.J.) chipped in with a career-high 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the floor as Bryant finished the game shooting 41 percent from the field.

Bryant (1-9) led much of the first half and stayed in front for more than 16 minutes of the second before a late cold spell on the offensive end saw the chance of a win slip away. Bryant held a 56-49 advantage with under seven minutes remaining, but the Friars (9-2) went on a 13-0 run to regain the lead with 3:37 left to play – their first lead since 38 seconds into the second frame – and held on from there.

But starting from the opening tip, the Bulldogs did a good job of showing patience in running their offense and gave the Friars few second-chance opportunities.

Francis accounted for six of Bryant's first eight points before Corey Maynard (Adelaide, Australia) drilled an open 3-pointer along the baseline to pull the Bulldogs within two, 13-11, with a little over eight minutes left in the half.

Following a pair of Friar free throws, Francis worked a nice give-and-go with freshman Ben Altit (Herzeliya, Israel) for an easy layup in the paint to bring Bryant back to within a basket, 15-13.

The Bulldogs caught a little bit of momentum from there, capitalizing on poor Providence execution and turnovers to put together eight uninterrupted points. A Frankie Dobbs (Berea, Ohio) three followed by a slam dunk from Francis on a fastbreak led to an Altit three from the top of the key, forcing PC to burn its second timeout.

Thankfully for Providence, Bryce Cotton kept the Friars in the game in the first half, accounting for 20 of PC's 29 points.  He would finish with a career-high 34 points in the game.  His three with 2:06 on the clock before the intermission pulled the Friars even with Bryant at 25-25, but Maynard and the Bulldogs steamed right back as the sophomore from Australia drilled another triple from the right side. 

With time winding down in the first half, Calandrillo, earning his second start this season, got a step on a Friar defender and hit a soft floater off the glass to send the Bulldogs to the locker room in front, 30-29, at the break.

Bryant shot 48 percent from the floor in the first half and outscored the Friars, 6-0, in fastbreak points. The advantage was just the team's second halftime lead of the year.

Providence regained the lead briefly in the opening moments of the second half, but another strong run by the Bulldogs put the visitors back on the plus side, much to the delight of the Bryant fans in attendance.

Calandrillo drilled a three and scored on a nice baseline drive to put Bryant up, 35-31, with 18:23 to go. On the defensive end, Altit blocked a Gerard Coleman shot inside that led to a Dobbs trey from the left side to make it 38-31 in the visitors' favor.

PC finally caught up to the Bulldogs six minutes later with a little 5-0 run, but the Friars had trouble containing Calandrillo again, as the sophomore drilled another deep 3-pointer with the shot clock winding down and scored on another soft floater in the paint to put Bryant up, 46-44, midway through the half.

Every time Providence tried to get things going offensively, the Bulldogs had an answer.  Continued patience on offense and excellent defensive hustle led to more layups for the Black and Gold, who extended their lead to seven points, 56-49, with just under seven minutes to play.

To get there, Francis picked up a loose ball in the Friar end and raced end to end to make it 50-47. After a PC turnover, the Bulldogs worked the ball around the perimeter, leading to a slicing layup by Maynard that just beat the shot clock for a 54-49 advantage.

On Bryant's next possession, Maynard and fellow Aussie Claybrin McMath (Adelaide, Australia) worked a nice little give-and-go that led to a layup by McMath to stretch the lead to 56-49 with 6:52 to go.

But unfortunately, the Bulldogs went cold over the next four minutes, allowing the Friars to get back into the game and take a six-point lead with 2:09 left to play, a lead they wouldn't relinquish.

Providence attempted 24 free throws to Bryant's only six in the game (the Bulldogs made three), with the Friars holding a 37-32 edge on the boards. Bryant shot 41 percent from the field on the day with eight 3-pointers and saw four Bulldogs record double-digit points.

The Bulldogs will be studying both on the court and off over the next week, as Bryant prepares for a trip to Chestnut Hill, Mass., to take on Boston College next Sunday, Dec. 18 as finals week comes to a close. From there, the Bulldogs will head out to the University of Arizona for their final pre-holiday contest, a Dec. 22 matchup against the Wildcats.