BULLDOGS LOOK TO GET FIRST WIN IN FRONT OF HOME CROWD, OPEN 2012-13 HOME SLATE SATURDAY AGAINST UNH (1 P.M.)
READ THE BRYANT/UNH FULL GAME NOTES
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THE PARTICULARS
Bryant hosts the University of New Hampshire in its 2012-13 home opener after playing two road games against top conferences to start the program's first season with full NCAA Division I eligibility. The contest will tip off at 1:00 p.m. from the Chace Athletic Center and can be seen live on NECFrontRow.
THE SERIES
This is the first-ever meeting between the Bulldogs and the Wildcats.
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
Ferg Myrick leads UNH with 16.5 points per game over the Wildcats' 2-0 start and is one of four players to average double figures. He is the team's top rebounder (10.0 rpg) so far and leads the squad with three blocks and four steals. Chris Pelcher has had the hottest hand for Saturday's visitors and is shooting 76.9 percent from the field (10-13) to average 11.5 points per game. He also pulls in 9.0 boards per outing. Patrick Konan has posted a 52.9 shooting mark with 40 percent accuracy from downtown (15.0 ppg, 7.0 rpg), while Chandler Rhoads wraps up the double-digit scorers with 11.5 points per game and an 8-for-11 mark from the free throw line. Just two games into the 2012-13 season, the Wildcats have already taken wins over Suffolk, 91-51, and Dartmouth (72-58 on the road) and are winning by an average of 27 points per game while shooting better than 50 percent from the field.LAST TIME OUT:
BRYANT vs. THE AMERICA EAST
The Bulldogs haven't taken on a team out of the America East Conference since its first year of Division I play in 2008-09. That season, Bryant played Albany twice, marking the only two previous contests between the Black and Gold and a member of the Wildcats' home league. The Bulldogs fell to Albany in both contests, suffering a 76-67 home heartbreaker to open the 2008-09 season in Bryant's first-ever game against a Division I opponent, and dropping a 57-47 decision on the road just two weeks later.
THE ROAD TO 1,000
After leading the Bulldogs in points scored and points per game each of the last two seasons, forward Alex Francis has started off his junior campaign with the same goal in mind, averaging 14.0 points and 8.0 boards per outing on the young 2012-13 season. And with his 15-point performance against No. 1 Indiana and a 13-point showing against Providence College Monday night, the junior enters Saturday's season opener just 20 points away from becoming the 32nd 1,000-point scorer in Bryant University men's basketball history. The New York native is also just 23 boards away from the 500-rebound mark and currently boasts a career shooting percentage above .500. His career 15.8 points-per-game average put him on pace to eclipse the 1000-point landmark in the fourth game of the season, on the road at Brown Nov. 21. The junior recorded 509 points last season as a sophomore, becoming the first Bulldog to top 500 points in a single season since John Williams did so back in 2005-06 (628 points in 31 games).
A 1000 REASONS
Senior point guard Frankie Dobbs is starting to take his own road to the major career landmark and currently boasts 855 points to his name. Of those, 795 have come as a Bulldog, with 60 coming from a rookie season spent at Ohio University. If Dobbs keeps averaging 12.8 points per game in a Bryant uniform, he will reach 1,000-career points this season -- Thursday, Jan. 10 at home against Quinnipiac.
THIS ONE COUNTS: BRYANT UNIVERSITY ENTERS FIRST YEAR OF FULL DIVISION I ELIGIBILITY IN 2012-13
After the completion of the NCAA-mandated four-year transition period that began in 2008-09, Bryant University became a full and official member of Division I, effective September 1, 2012. With the transition now behind it, the Bulldogs enter into their first year with full NCAA and Northeast Conference (NEC) postseason eligibility. The 2012-13 campaign is the program's fifth competing at the DI level and fourth playing within the NEC, of which Bryant is the 12th full member.
GIVE AND TAKE
Despite major discrepancies on the scoreboard and on the glass, Bryant has not been careless with the ball in the early goings of the season. In fact, the Bulldogs and both the Hoosiers and the Friars engaged in more than a little give and take when it came to ball-handling, with Indiana committing 17 turnovers to Bryant's 18, and Providence College committing 15 giveaways, matching Bryant's number. The Hoosiers snagged four more steals than the Black and Gold, 12-8, but the Friars got just one more takeaway, 8-7, Monday night, keeping the Bulldogs close to even with their opponents in both categories so far this season after committing 92 more turnovers and grabbing 91 less steals than their foes on the 2011-12 campaign.
UP NEXT
The Bulldogs play one more before breaking for Thanksgiving, traveling to nearby Brown for another in-state rivalry game Wednesday, Nov. 21. The tilt will tip off from the Pizzatola Center at 7:00 p.m.
TICKET TO RIDE
Single-game and season ticket packages are still available for the 2012-13 men's and women's basketball seasons. Fans can purchase tickets online at www.bryantbulldogs.com/tickets or by calling the Bryant Athletics Ticket Office at 401-519-TIXX.
CAN'T MAKE IT TO THE GAME?
Bryant University Athletics and the Northeast Conference have partnered with Pack Network to create NEC Front Row, the home for all NEC men's and women's basketball broadcasts in 2012-13. NEC Front Row brings viewers an industry-leading video streaming solution for more than 100 Bryant University home contests during the 2012-13 athletic seasons, including live, free-of-charge broadcasts of all 15 Bulldog home men's basketball games. Live event productions include multiple camera angles, an on-screen scoreboard and state-of-the-art graphics. Visitwww.necfrontrow.com for more information and a schedule of events.
