BULLDOGS LOOK FOR FIRST-EVER WIN OVER INTRASTATE RIVAL BROWN WEDNESDAY NIGHT ON ROAD
FULL GAME NOTES
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THE PARTICULARS
Bryant looks to even its record at 2-2 and earn the program's first-ever win over intrastate rival Brown University in Wednesday night's pre-Thanksgiving bout in nearby Providence, R.I. The game will tip off from the Pizzitola Sports Center at 7:00 p.m.
THE SERIES
This is the 12th meeting between the Bulldogs and the Bears, with Brown dominating the all-time series, 11-0. These teams have met in each of the last four seasons, with the Bears visiting Smithfield and the Chace Athletic Center last year to take home a 67-60 victory.
SCOUTING THE BEARS
Brown boasts a 2-1 early season record, taking road wins over Binghamton, 58-49, and Maine, 70-68, and falling to Northeast Conference member Central Connecticut, 86-71. Wednesday's contest marks the Bears' 2012-13 home opener, and the team return to friendly territory averaging 66.3 points per game and shooting just under 42 percent from the floor. The Bears are led by Matt Sullivan's 16.0 points per game average, while Rafael Maia chips in 14 per outing with a team-best 6.3 rebounds per game and a .667 shooting clip from the field. Sean McGonagill (14.3 ppg) and Tucker Halpern (11.5 ppg) also average double figures, while McGonagill's 12 assists pace the Brown side as well.
LAST TIME AGAINST THE BEARS
Despite an evenly matched first half that saw Brown head to the locker room with just a two-point halftime advantage, the Bulldogs struggled to find consistency in the second frame, allowing the Bears to hold onto their lead down the stretch for then 67-60 victory at the Chace Athletic Center Jan. 23, 2012. Alex Francis scored 17 to lead the host Bulldogs, who saw Corey Maynard (15) and Frankie Dobbs (10) join in on the double-digit scoring action. Stephen Albrecht led the visitors with a game-high 21 points, while Sean McGonagill added 15 and dished out seven helpers. Bryant put up nine 3-pointers in the outing and equaled its opponent on the glass, with both sides pulling in 34 rebounds. The Bulldogs shot 39.3 percent from the floor on the day despite a 46.7 percent clip in the first half, while Brown finished the contest hitting at 50 percent from the field.
BRYANT vs. THE IVY LEAGUE
Wednesday's matchup with the Bears marks the first of three contests Bryant will play against members of the Ivy League in 2012-13. All-time, Bryant is 1-15 against the Ancient Eight in its short Division I history, having matched up against Columbia (0-3), Brown (0-4), Cornell (0-2), Harvard (0-2), Yale (1-3) and Dartmouth (0-1) over the last four seasons. In the history of the program, the Bulldogs are just 1-22 against Ivy League opponents, most frequently matching up with intrastate rival Brown (0-11). Bryant earned its lone win over the conference on January 2, 2009 with a 69-58 topping of Yale at the Chace Athletic Center.
WELCOME TO THE CLUB, ALEX!
With 16:02 to play in Saturday's home opener against the University of New Hampshire, junior forward Alex Francis went up for a nearly unchallenged layup and came back down to earth as the newest member of an elite club – the 1,000-point club. The basket, his 20th point of the game, made Francis the 32nd 1,000-point scorer in Bryant basketball history and the first to achieve the feat exclusively at the Division I level. The New York native took one of the quickest paths to get to the 1,000-point threshold, needing only 63 games in a Bryant jersey to reach the milestone. Francis's accomplishment is the 180th time a Northeast Conference player has reached the career milestone, and he is one of five active NEC players with 1,000 points or more.
LEAPS AND REBOUNDS
Junior Alex Francis has led Bulldogs in points scored, points per game and rebounds per game each of his first two seasons and is off to the same start in 2012-13. And with one milestone down, the junior moves even closer to achieving the next one, as Francis needs just 14 more rebounds for 500 on his career.
HOME COOKIN'
Bryant's 76-64 win over the University of New Hampshire Saturday, Nov. 17 marked the first time the Bulldogs have won their home opener in the Division I era.
50/50
The Bulldogs never trailed in its 12-point win over the Wildcats Saturday, but more than that, Bryant finished the game shooting at a .547 clip – the first time a Bryant side has shot better than 50 percent in a game since Dec. 3, 2011, when the squad shot 50.9 percent at home against Quinnipiac. The Black and Gold also surpassed the .500 mark in each half (.517 in the first; .583 in the second) for the first time since Jan. 20, 2011 against Fairleigh Dickinson (.519; .583).
NEED SOME COMPANY, ALEX?
Senior point guard Frankie Dobbs is on his own road to 1,000-career points, currently boasting 867 points to his name. Of those, 807 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 in his 14th game this season -- Thursday, Jan. 10 at home against Quinnipiac.
MR. RELIABLE
Senior point guard Frankie Dobbs has been quite consistent when it comes to scoring this season. He has recorded exactly 12 points in each of the Bulldogs' first three games this season.
UP NEXT
The Bulldogs are back at it Sunday afternoon, traveling to Chestnut Hill, Mass., to play another regional rival in Boston College, also the alma mater of head coach Tim O'Shea. The game, which tips off from Conte Forum at 2:00 p.m., can be seen live on ESPN3.
