BULLDOGS GO FOR THIRD-STRAIGHT WIN THURSDAY NIGHT AT HOME (7 P.M.); GAME BROADCAST LIVE ON ESPN3, FCS AND COX
FULL GAME NOTES
Watch: ESPN3 l Fox College Sports l Cox (RI)
Listen: WOON 1240 AM
Live Stats: bryantbulldogs.com
Follow along on Twitter: @BryantGameday
THE PARTICULARS
The Bulldogs return home to host a pair of Northeast Conference contests at the Chace Athletic Center, starting with Thursday night's matchup against St. Francis Brooklyn. Tipoff is slated for 7:03 p.m., and the tilt will be broadcast LIVE on ESPN3, Fox College Sports and Cox Sports in Rhode Island as Bryant goes for its third-straight victory and record-16th win of the season.
THE SERIES
This is the seventh all-time meeting between the Bulldogs and the Terriers, with St. Francis holding a 5-1 edge in the series after winning the last two matchups. The Bulldogs took their only victory over the Terriers, 67-64, back on Jan. 8, 2011 on a last-second game-winning 3-pointer from now-junior Corey Maynard, and while Bryant is winless on the road against St. Francis, the team is 1-2 at home in Smithfield. Thursday's game marks the only meeting between the Bulldogs and the Terriers during the 2012-13 regular season.
SCOUTING THE TERRIERS
Jalen Cannon and Ben Mockford pace St. Francis Brooklyn's offense, putting up 16.6 and 10.4 points per game, respectively, while Trvis Nichols has averaged 10.5 points per outing in NEC play this season (8.5 ppg on year). Cannon also leads the Terriers on the glass, averaging just shy of a double-double with 9.5 boards per contest with 20 steals as well and shooting 57.4 percent from the field. Mockford is the team's leading deep threat, with 56 trifectas on the year (2.7 per game), and Brent Jones runs the offense, dishing out 4.3 assists per game. Akeem Johnson's 13 blocks are a team best, and the 21-game starter also chips in 9.6 points and 5.3 rebounds each time out. As a team, the Terriers post 69 points per game and shot with 42.2 percent accuracy from the field. St. Francis enters Smithfield having lost three of its last four outings and looks to move above .500 in conference play Thursday night.
LAST TIME AGAINST ST. FRANCIS (February 4, 2012)
Turnovers and 3-pointers were the material of St. Francis's 80-67 win over Bryant the last time these teams met, Feb. 4, 2012 at the Pope Center, as the host Terriers drilled 13 triples and capitalized on 18 Bulldog giveaways to win the only matchup of the season.
Frankie Dobbs recorded what was then a new career high with a game-best 26 points and went a career-best 14-of-15 from the free throw line despite the loss, leading three Bulldogs in double figures. Raphael Jordan chipped in 16 points while Alex Francis 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 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.
BRYANT vs. THE NORTHEAST CONFERENCE
The Bulldogs are 8-2 against the Northeast Conference in 2012-13 with a 23-55 record against current league members since joining the Division I ranks. All-time against current NEC schools, the Bulldog basketball program is 51-109 (.319), having most frequently faced off against former Northeast-10 Conference (DII) member Quinnipiac (18-42).
QUICK HITS
» TV Land: Bryant men's basketball makes its fifth television appearance of the year Thursday night against St. Francis Brooklyn. The 7 p.m. tipoff will be broadcast live on ESPN3, Fox College Sports and Cox Sports in Rhode Island with Dave Popkin calling all the action alongside color analyst Terry O'Connor with John Schmeelk on the sidelines.
» Record Reached: Saturday's win over Monmouth on the road was the Bulldogs eighth NEC victory of the season, setting a new Division I program record for league wins in a season. The previous record of seven conference victories was first established in 2010-11.
» Winning Ways: Bryant's 15th win of the season came Saturday on the road against the Hawks, 77-62, a victory that guarantees the Bulldogs a winning regular-season record in their first season of NCAA Division I eligibility.
» Movin' On Up: The Bulldogs have now been ranked in the College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 for six-straight weeks, ranked No. 21 entering this week's action. Bryant cracked the prestigious list for the first time in program history on Dec. 31 at No. 25, then spent two weeks at No. 21 and a week at No. 17 before falling to No. 22 last week.
» Frankly Speaking: Fifth-year senior point guard Frankie Dobbs bested his career-high points mark against Monmouth, finishing the game with a game- and career-best 27 points off 6-of-9 shooting and an 11-of-13 mark from the free throw line.
» You Can Call Me Al: Junior forward Alex Francis earned his second Northeast Conference Player of the Week honor of the season this week, marking the fifth such accolade for a Bryant player in 2012-13 after the team missed out on receiving the award at any point throughout the previous three seasons. Sophomore Dyami Starks has also won NEC Player of the Week twice this year, with senior Frankie Dobbs taking the award home once.
» First of All: Last Thursday night, the Bulldogs reclaimed sole possession of first place in the Northeast Conference standings with a 15-point win over Fairleigh Dickinson, and the team stayed in front Saturday with a 77-62 victory over Monmouth. Bryant looks to hold onto its one-game league lead against St. Francis Brooklyn Thursday night.
» Road Warriors: The Bulldogs took their eighth road victory of the year Saturday night in West Long Branch, N.J., and now have more true road wins in 2012-13 than in the program's previous four Division I seasons combined (7 since 2008-09). Bryant leads the NEC in the category and is one of nine schools tied for third nationally when it comes to true road wins, behind only Stony Brook (10) and Bucknell (9).
» 20's Plenty: Either Dyami Starks, Alex Francis or Frankie Dobbs has scored 25 or more points in each of the last four games.
» National Leaderboard: Numerous Bulldogs can be found ranked in the NCAA's Top 100 in multiple categories (see right), but none are ranked higher than sophomore sharpshooter Dyami Starks. Starks enters the week ranked 16th among all Division I players for 3-point field goals per game, also leading the NEC ranks at 3.00 trifectas per outing. Junior forward Alex Francis also highlights the national rankings, as his 55.1 percent shooting clip is good for 33rd overall.
» Tremendous Turnaround: Bryant remains the most improved team in the nation when it comes to pure win turnaround, as the Bulldogs already boast 13 more wins in 2012-13 than it had a season ago. The next best in terms of win improvement? Towson, at 11.
» 15 and Counting: The Bulldogs keep improving on their Division I single-season wins record, picking up their 15th victory of the year on the road against Monmouth Saturday night, 77-62. Bryant has now won more games this season than in the last three campaigns combined (12).
» Bracketology Breakthrough: Bryant remains the NEC representative on ESPN's Bracketology with Joe Lunardi as of Feb. 5 and is currently awarded a 16 seed.
YOU CAN CALL ME AL
Junior forward Alex Francis earned his second Northeast Conference Player of the Week honor of the season and the second of his career this week after averaging 21 points and 10 rebounds per game last week. The Harlem, N.Y., native picked up a season-high 27 points (9 rebounds) in a win over FDU last Thursday and followed it up with his fifth-double-double of the year and 21st of his career (15 points, 11 rebounds) Saturday night in a win over Monmouth.
LEAPS AND REBOUNDS
The Bulldogs outrebounded their opponents for the 12th time this season and the second-straight game Saturday against the Hawks, turning around what was becoming a worrisome trend after being outworked on the glass in three-consecutive games from Jan. 19-26. Bryant is just 5-4 when losing the battle on the glass but 10-2 when finishing with a rebounding edge. Last Thursday, Bryant outrebounded FDU, 39-26, and the season-best 13-board margin marked the fifth time this year the Bulldogs have outrebounded an opponent by double figures.
TWENTY SOMETHINGS
Three Bulldogs have combined to record 20 or more points in a game 18 times this season, most recently Saturday night at Monmouth. Sophomore Dyami Starks leads the way with nine such outings, while junior Alex Francis has six after a season-high 27-point performance last Thursday against the Knights. Senior Frankie Dobbs has chipped in three this year, including a career-high 27 points last time out in a win over Monmouth. Two players have recorded 20+ points in the same contest three times, with Starks (20) and Francis (21) doing so at Lehigh Dec. 29, Starks (29) and Dobbs (26) teaming up at Robert Morris Jan. 3 and Starks (20) and Dobbs (24) repeating the feat at home against Quinnipiac Jan. 10. One of these three players has recorded 25 points or more in each of the last four games, as well.
LEADER OF THE PACK
Two of nine active 1,000-point scorers in the Northeast Conference, both Alex Francis and Frankie Dobbs rank near the top of multiple NEC active leaders lists. Entering this week's action, Francis and Dobbs are fifth (1303) and sixth (1113), respectively, among active scoring leaders, while the former sits fifth on the depth chart for total career rebounds (637), third in 20-point games (20) and fourth in 30-point games (2). With 434, Dobbs sits third among active players for career assists and is ninth among active players for 20-point games (11).
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.
BRYANT HOOPS ON WOON RADIO
For the fifth-consecutive season, all Bryant University basketball home games and select road contests can be heard LIVE on WOON 1240 AM. Veteran sportscaster Jon Wallach of 98.5 FM The Sports Hub Boston returns to call the action as the voice of the Bulldogs, alongside color analyst Tristan Hobbes.
UP NEXT
The Bulldogs remain in Smithfield, R.I., for a Saturday matchup against Sacred Heart. The 4 p.m. tipoff is the second half of an NEC men's/women's doubleheader and is a rematch of the Jan. 24 contest that snapped Bryant's eight-game winning streak.
