BRYANT TIES DIVISION I PROGRAM MARK WITH SEVENTH LEAGUE WIN, 78-63, OVER FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON THURSDAY

HACKENSACK, N.J. – Juniors Alex Francis (Harlem, N.Y.) and Corey Maynard (Adelaide, Australia) each set new season highs with 27 points and 16 points, respectively, as the Bryant University men's basketball team tied its Division I record for Northeast Conference wins with a 78-63 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson at Stratis Arena Thursday night.

Francis's 27 points were a game best for the Bulldogs (14-6, 7-2 NEC) as the junior fell just a single rebound shy of a double-double with a contest-high nine boards. The forward led four double-digit scorers for the Black and Gold, as sophomore sharpshooter Dyami Starks (Duluth, Minn.) added 13 and classmate Joe O'Shea (Burlington, Vt.) chipped in 12 points and a career-best seven assists.

Maynard pulled in eight boards of his own to help Bryant outrebound the Knights (7-15, 2-7), 39-26, on the night while the Bulldogs dished out 17 helpers from five different sources and shot 43.3 percent from the floor on the game.

"It's always big to get a road win, but I was really pleased with how we handled the end of the game – our disciple in terms of extending the lead and handling the basketball," said head coach Tim O'Shea. "I'm also pleased with how we shared the basketball tonight and how we reversed a trend from the last two games on the glass, outrebounding them by 13. I thought that was key."

Of Bryant's 39 boards, 17 came on the offensive glass, and the Black and Gold capitalized on 17 FDU turnovers for 25 second-chance points on the night. Maynard connected on four of the team's seven 3-pointers on the contest while getting a game-high three steals with four assists in a complete-game effort. The Knights shot 45.3 percent from the field on the night and got eight triples, including a 4-for-5 performance from Mathias Seilund. Seilund paced four double-digit FDU scorers with 16 points.

The Bulldogs started the game out on a 7-0 run, but saw the lead quickly dwindle to two just over five minutes in. Seilund dumped in triples on three-straight possessions to take over the lead for the home side, and FDU would make it four-straight 3-pointers and take a 16-11 advantage before both sides went cold for more than three minutes.

Francis broke the scoring drought with a dunk at the 8:40 mark, and while FDU would renew its largest lead of the game with a Kinu Rochford (12 points) bucket seconds later, 18-13, Bryant would tie it up at 20-20 before taking back the lead on a Starks 3-pointer with 5:10 on the clock.

The lead would teeter back and forth between the sides, with the Knights taking a one-point edge on Seilund's fourth triple of the frame at with 4:12 mark, and the half would see its fifth and final deadlock with 77 ticks to go, 29-29. But the Black and Gold would close out the stanza with the final five points – emphasized by a trifecta from senior point guard Frankie Dobbs (Berea, Ohio) (8 points) with four seconds to go – to take a 34-29 advantage into the break.

Neither side shot particularly well, with the Bulldogs converting just 40 percent of their shots in the opening 20 minutes. Francis led the way with 11 points, but the teams combined for 19 turnovers in the frame. The Bulldogs outrebounded the Knights in the session, 21-14, including 12 offensive boards (five from Francis).

The Bulldogs started the second half out slowly, giving the ball away twice and allowing the hosts a 37-36 edge, but a 4:45 scoreless streak afforded the visitors a 42-37 lead. Maynard would extend Bryant's margin to seven with 11:18 to go, draining back-to-back trifectas, and the Bulldogs took their largest lead of the game to that point following two made from the charity stripe from Starks, 50-41.

Francis and O'Shea would combine for the next 12 Bulldog points en route to a 62-49 lead, and Bryant would roll from there, showing poise and discipline all the way to the final buzzer for the 78-63 victory.

The win marked the team's 14th of the year, as Bryant continues to add to its single-season Division I record. The seven NEC victories ties the program mark set in 2010-11. The Bulldogs will look to break that record in their next outing, as the team stays put in the Garden State for a Saturday night matchup at Monmouth (7 p.m.).