GAME NOTES
SMITHFIELD, R.I. -- The Bryant University men's basketball team looks for its first winning streak of the season as it closes out a three-game homestand Thursday night against Northeast Conference rival Wagner College. The 7:00 p.m. tipoff can be seen live on NECFrontRow.com and heard on WOON 1240 AM.
THE SERIES
Thursday's game marks the ninth all-time meeting between the Bulldogs and the Seahawks, who own a commanding 6-2 advantage in the all-time series after winning the only matchup of the 2013-14 campaign. This is the first of two tilts between Bryant and Wagner this season, and the Seahawks own the 3-1 edge on Bryant's home court.
SCOUTING THE SEAHAWKS
Marcus Burton leads the 4-11 Seahawks and is the only player to average double-digit scoring at 16.4 points per game. Romone Saunders (9.5) and Corey Henson (9.1) follow behind, and the Seahawks have been sharing the load on the glass without top rebounder Mike Aaman (7.0 rpg in 6 appearances). Nolan Long (5.7 ppg) converts at a 56.7 percent clip from the floor to lead Wagner, while the team's three top shot-takers — Burton, Saunders and Henson — are shooting a combined .408 from the field. Wagner has struggled to keep opposing shooters in check, allowing 50 percent accuracy from the floor and a 41 percent conversion rate from 3-point range.
CURRENT BULLDOGS vs. WAGNER
Only five current Bulldogs have seen action against the Seahawks in their careers, with four of them facing off against Wagner more than once. Senior sharpshooter Dyami Starks averages 15.7 points per game in three career outings against the Seahawks, converting nearly 40 percent of his lifetime shots (15-38) with a 7-of-20 mark from long range. Senior guard Joe O'Shea averages 12.7 points and 58 percent shooting (14-24) over three contests. Juniors Shane McLaughlin and Curtis Oakley have also matched up against Wagner three times with limited scoring success, while sophomore forward Dan Garvin scored six points and pulled in six rebounds last season in his only career appearance against the Seahawks. Current Bulldogs are shooting a lifetime .446 (33-74) from the field, .333 (11-33) from 3-point land and .833 (20-24) from the free throw line against the Seahawks.
BRYANT vs. THE NORTHEAST CONFERENCE
The Bulldogs are 3-1 against the Northeast Conference in 2014-15 with a 34-57 record (.374) against current NEC members since joining the Division I ranks. All-time against current conference institutions, the Bulldog basketball program is 48-74 (.393). Bryant is currently tied for first place in the league standings.
OH DANNY BOY
Sophomore starting forward Dan Garvin recorded a host of new career highs last week en route to earning his first-career Northeast Conference weekly honor, including setting new personal bests for points scored in both of Bryant's wins last week. The NEC Player of the Week averaged 15.0 points, 12.5 rebounds, 2.5 blocks and 2.5 steals for the Black and Gold in a pair of career performances, shooting 57.9 percent from the floor and 80 percent from the line as Bryant moved to 3-1 in league play. Garvin netted a career-high 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting with seven rebounds and three blocks in an 80-54 win over Saint Francis U. last Thursday, but his most impressive showing was yet to come for the Bethel, Conn., native. In Saturday's 73-60 victory over FDU, he established new career marks with 16 points, 18 rebounds and four steals in the first double-double effort of the year by a Bryant player. The 18 rebounds tied for the most in the NEC this year and marked the highest total by a Bulldog since Alex Francis ('14) recorded 18 at CCSU on January 12, 2013. Garvin is averaging 8.2 points and a team-high 6.9 rebounds per game on the year.
GOING STREAKING?
Despite a 6-7 overall record, the Bulldogs have been surging in a big way as of late, having won three of their last four contests in 2015 and five of their last seven dating back to Dec. 9. But Bryant has yet to string together three-straight victories this season and will go for its first winning streak of the year Thursday night at home against Wagner.
ALL ABOARD
The Bulldogs have been better than ever on the glass as of late, pulling in 40 or more rebounds in three of the last four contests. Bryant's season-high 45 boards at LIU Brooklyn to open NEC play on Jan. 3 fell just one shy of tying the program's Division I mark and were the most in a game since Feb. 24, 2011 (46 at LIU Brooklyn). Last week, the Black and Gold hit or surpassed the 40-rebound mark in both victories, grabbing 40 in an 80-54 win over Saint Francis U. last Thursday and another 43 in Saturday's 73-60 win over FDU. The Black and Gold are now 6-0 this season when winning the margin on the glass.
SHOOTING PROFILE
Saturday's win over FDU marked the first time this season the Bulldogs have shot less than 40 percent from the field (.392) and come away with the victory. Bryant is now 1-6 when shooting below .400 but is 5-1 when converting at least 40 percent of its shots.
REGULAR JOE
Senior Joe O'Shea has been on fire for the Bulldogs over the last five contests, averaging a team-leading 15.4 points and 7.8 rebounds per game while shooting 51 percent from the floor (26-51) and going 21-for-24 from the line. The guard has registered double-digit points four times, surpassing 20 points in a game for just the second time in his career last Thursday night (21). He added a game-best 19 points two days later in a victory over FDU. Jan. 5 against St. Francis Brooklyn, the senior captain pulled in a game-best 10 rebounds to tie his career high while also recording the first double-digit rebounding game for any Bryant player this season. On the year, O'Shea averages 9.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per game entering Thursday action.
SHARING THE LOAD
After senior guard Dyami Starks led the Bulldogs in scoring in each of the first eight games of the season, the Bryant offense has started to share the load. The last five games have seen three different Bulldog leading scorers, with senior guard Joe O'Shea pacing the team three times (12 vs. Dartmouth, 21 vs. SFU, 19 vs. FDU) and rookie guard Hunter Ware doing so once with 13 points at St. Francis Brooklyn. Starks also led the side once, scoring 25 in a win over LIU Brooklyn Jan. 3. The Black and Gold have also diversified their offensive options. Prior to Dec. 31, Starks outscored the team's next leading scorer by 13.2 points per game, averaging 19.8 each time out. Over the last five games, however, four players — led by O'Shea at 15.4 ppg — are averaging double figures (Starks-11.8; Garvin-10.8; Ware-10.0).
THE STATS ON STARKS
The second-leading scorer in the NEC and the team's leading scorer in 9-of-13 contests, senior guard Dyami Starks enters Thursday's game ranked 13th in the national rankings for threes per game, draining a league-best 3.15 each time out. He also ranks 19th in minutes per game (36:36, 2nd in NEC) and 78th in 3-point percentage (.366, 2nd in NEC).
HOLD ON TIGHT
As a team, the Bulldogs currently rank ninth in the nation in fewest turnovers, giving the ball away just 155 times. But after 18 giveaways against FDU Saturday, they drop from 43rd to 77th in the country with an 11.9 per-game average. That mark, however, is still tops in the NEC.
STARKS DRAINS 200TH TRIPLE, CLIMBS NEC'S ALL-TIME RANKINGS
Bryant senior guard Dyami Starks became the 50th player in NEC history to reach 200 career 3-pointers back on Dec. 3 and has been working his way up the league's all-time list ever since. With 224 trifectas over the course of his career at Bryant (2+ seasons), Starks now sits tied for 24th in the conference's all-time rankings. To reach the top-20 by year's end, the Minnesota native would need to hit just 15 more treys. Already, Starks is Bryant's Division I leader in threes and ranks fifth on the all-time list. Including his rookie season at Columbia, Starks now has 243 career trifectas.
TICKET TO RIDE
Single-game ticket packages are still available for the 2014-15 Bryant University men's and women's basketball seasons. Tickets can be purchased online at bryantbulldogs.com/tickets or by calling the Bryant Athletics Ticket Office at 401-319-TIXX.
CAN'T MAKE IT TO THE GAME?
Bryant University Athletics and the Northeast Conference have partnered with Pack Network to create NEC Front Row, the home for all NEC men's and women's basketball broadcasts. NEC Front Row brings viewers an industry-leading video streaming solution for more than 100 Bryant University home contests during the 2014-15 athletic seasons, including live, free-of-charge, high-definition broadcasts of all Bulldog home men's basketball games. Live event productions include multiple camera angles, an on-screen scoreboard, state-of-the-art graphics and brand-new DVR functionality. Visit necfrontrow.com for more information and a schedule of events.
BRYANT HOOPS ON WOON RADIO
For the seventh 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 hit the road for just a single away contest Saturday, taking on Central Connecticut in New Britain, Conn., at 3:30 p.m. The tilt is the second half of a men's/women's NEC doubleheader and can be seen live and free-of-charge at NECFrontRow.com and heard on WOON 1240 AM.
