BRYANT COMES UP SHORT AGAINST RICHMOND, 76-71, IN CBI OPENING ROUND ACTION

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – In the program's first-ever appearance in the College Basketball Invitational tournament, the Bryant University men's basketball team fell to Richmond, 76-71, Wednesday night at the Chace Athletic Center.

With 2:14 remaining on the clock, Richmond pushed their lead to five points, 67-62, off a pair of free throws from Darien Brothers, but junior forward Alex Francis (Harlem, N.Y.) quickly responded with a layup to cut the deficit to just three.

The Spiders continued to have an answer to every Bulldog push as Greg Robbins knocked down a corner-three to extend the edge to six points, 70-64, with under 1:30 remaining on the clock. A pair at the line from sophomore guard Dyami Starks (Duluth, Minn.) brought Bryant with four points with just over a minute to play, but a Cedrick Lindsay jumper with time expiring on the shot clock pushed Richmond's edge back to six points.

Starks quickly raced down the floor and laid in a basket shrinking the lead to four with 34 seconds left, but with time dwindling the Bulldogs were forced to foul, sending Richmond to the line to solidify the 76-71 victory.

Starks and Francis paced the Bulldogs with 16 points apiece, with the latter adding a game-high seven rebounds. Senior forward Vlad Kondratyev (Nikoalyev, Ukraine) tied his season-high with 13 points, while classmate Frankie Dobbs (Berea, Ohio) put up a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds in 38 minutes. Freshman guard Curtis Oakley (South Euclid, Ohio) added a career-high 10 points off the bench with a career-best five rebounds and two steals.

Lindsay led all scorers with 25 points for the Spiders, while Kendall Anthony added 5 points and two steals. Robbins added 13 points, including a trio of 3-pointers, with Darien Brothers chipping in 10 points in 24 minutes.

The two teams were almost dead even acorss the board statistically. Richmond just edged the Bulldogs from the field, shooting 50 percent compared to Bryant's 48 percent clip, with both squads hauling in 29 rebounds. The Spiders took care of the ball slightly better, turning it over 11 times to Bryant's 14 giveaways. 

Richmond came out of the gate strong opening up a 10-2 advantage early but Bryant quickly settled into its offense, gaining its first advantage of the night, 19-18, on a pair of Francis free with 11:38 to play in the first half. A Brothers' jumper at 9:17 ended a 7-0 Bryant run, but an O'Shea And-one pushes the hosts edge to four points, 24-20, with nine minutes remaining until the halftime break.

Both teams traded buckets through the seven-minute mark as neither team could take control of the pace. The Spiders were able to regain the advantage, 28-27, at the five-minute mark until an Oakley 3-pointer snapped an extended Bryant scoring drought and gave the Bulldogs back the lead, 30-28. Another Oakley long ball granted the Black and Gold the 33-29 edge.

Bryant closed the half with a big layup from Francis, holding-tough to a 37-33 halftime advantage. Francis paced the Bulldogs with 12 first half points to go along with a game-high four boards. Starks added nine points, while Oakley provided some quality minutes off the bench, putting up six points and a pair of steals. Anthony led the Spiders with nine points in nine minutes, with Lindsay and Brothers chipping in eight apiece.

Richmond came out of the locker room on fire knocking down a trio of 3-pointers to reclaim the lead, 44-41, with 15:53 remaining in the contest. The Spiders pushed their lead back to eight (game-high) but Bryant quickly responded with a string of buckets to bring the hosts with a single-point, 51-50, with 10:56 left.

An Oakley floater knotted the two teams, 56-56, but the Spiders were able to answers as they clung to a two-point edge with eight minutes play. Just second later, Kondratyev collected a loose ball and laid it in while being fouled, granting Bryant its first lead, 57-56, since the opening minutes of the second half.

Five-straight Richmond points pushed Richmond back in front, 61-57, with just 4:48 remaining on the clock, but four consecutive freebies by Bryant quickly tied it back up. The Spiders were able to hold on, sqeaking out a 76-71 victory.

After winning just two games a season ago, Bryant's 17-win improvement this year was the best turnaround in NCAA men's basketball this season, as the Bulldogs made their first postseason appearance in Bryant's Division 1 history. Francis will enter his senior season in 2013-14 just 10 points shy of the 1,500-point mark, as the Black and Gold look to continue their success on the hardwood.

For all the latest news on the Bryant University men's basketball team, visit BryantBulldogs.com.