TERRIERS BITE BULLDOGS, 80-67, SATURDAY ON ROAD

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Turnovers and 3-pointers were the material of St. Francis (NY)'s 80-67 win over the Bryant University men's basketball team Saturday afternoon at the Pope Center, as the host Terriers drilled 13 triples and capitalized on 18 Bulldog turnovers to earn their 10th Northeast Conference victory.

Junior Frankie Dobbs (Berea, Ohio) recorded a new career high with a game-best 26 points and went a career 14-of-15 from the free throw line despite the loss, leading three Bulldogs (2-22, 1-11 NEC) in double figures. Classmate Raphael Jordan (Bel Air, Md.) chipped in 16 points while sophomore Alex Francis (Harlem, N.Y.) added 15 with a 5-of-7 mark from the field. The Bulldogs were outrebounded, 35-26, in the game despite leading in the category at the half, and five Terriers (13-10, 10-2) recorded double-digit points.

The Terriers opened up a quick 12-4 edge in the game with the help of eight-consecutive points from Ben Mockford before a 7-0 run by the Bulldogs pulled the visitors within one, 12-11, at the 12:37 mark. St. Francis would rebound, though, outscoring Bryant, 18-3, and winding the clock down to 8:20 and the score up to 30-14 to turn the one-point edge into a 16-point lead.

Bryant would struggle with turnovers the entire frame while the home side went 7-of-12 from long range, and the Bulldogs couldn't make up any ground in the closing minutes, taking a 40-25 deficit into the locker room at the half.

But after trailing by nearly 20 points through the first 16 minutes of the second frame, the Bulldogs rattled off 11-straight points – all of them from Dobbs – over a span of just 58 seconds, forcing four-straight Terrier turnovers to draw within single digits, 69-60, with just 3:01 to play.

Dobbs scored 15-straight points for the Bulldogs down the stretch – nine of them from the line – but Mockford put the run to an end at the 2:34 mark, responding to the streak with a trifecta from the corner to regain a double-digit lead for good and lock up the eventual 80-67 win.

The Bulldogs got down big early due in strong part to their 14 turnovers in the opening 20 minutes. Bryant committed just four giveaways in the second half to St. Francis's eight, but the Terriers would ultimately get 26 points off turnovers in the contest.

Bryant posted an 0-for-7 mark from long range in the first frame and would finish the day going 4-for-16 from beyond the arc. St. Francis finished the afternoon 13-of-29 from three, led by five treys from Mockford (21 points).

The Bulldogs shot 44.2 percent from the floor in the loss, as the Terriers hit a 49.2 percent clip. St. Francis shot 44.8 percent from 3-point range, while Bryant was again solid at the charity stripe, converting 25-of-32 (.781) from the line.

Bryant will take on Sacred Heart Wednesday night in Fairfield, Conn., for the start of NEC Rivalry Week (7 p.m.).