GAME NOTES
SMITHFIELD, R.I. -- The Bryant University men's basketball team returns to Northeast Conference play after a one-game break and will host a rematch with LIU Brooklyn Thursday night at the Chace Athletic Center. The 7:00 p.m. tipoff can be seen live on NECFrontRow.com and heard on WOON 1240 AM.
THE SERIES
Thursday's game is the 12th all-time meeting between the two programs, and while LIU holding a 7-4 edge in the series, the Bulldogs have won each of the last three tilts, including a 67-63 victory in Brooklyn earlier this season (Jan. 3). The Blackbirds had won six-straight games against Bryant before the Bulldogs swept the 2013-14 season series.
SCOUTING THE BLACKBIRDS
Gerrell Martin is the only player to average double-figure scoring for LIU Brooklyn at 12.1 points per game, but three Blackbirds average north of nine points per outing in Martin Hermannsson (9.5), Landon Atterberry (9.1) and Elvar Fridriksson (9.1). Atterberry adds 5.7 rebounds per game to his numbers, while Nura Zanna (8.8 ppg) is the team's top rebounder at 6.2 boards per contest, also shooting a side-leading 50 percent (52-104) from the floor. Martin represents the Blackbirds' top 3-point threat (.407), as LIU Brooklyn shoots .320 from beyond the arc and .390 from the field. The Blackbirds are the league's top rebounding team 37.7 boards each time out.
TOP BULLDOGS vs. LIU BROOKLYN
Senior sharpshooter Dyami Starks leads all Bryant scorers, averaging a career 21.3 points per game against the Blackbirds over four career outings, including scoring 25 in the first meeting of the season Jan. 3. He has been deadly accurate from the floor (.462) and from long distance (.444) against LIU Brooklyn with 17 total rebounds, 11 assists and seven steals. Junior point guard Shane McLaughlin and sophomore forward Dan Garvin both average 8.0 points per game in four and two matchups, respectively, while senior Joe O'Shea scored 18 last time out and currently averages 12.0 points per contest (4 games). Current Bulldogs are shooting a lifetime .466 (68-146) against the Blackbirds, with a .391 mark from 3-point range (27-69).
BRYANT vs. THE NORTHEAST CONFERENCE
The Bulldogs are 5-1 with a four-game winning streak in Northeast Conference play in 2014-15 and sport a 36-57 record (.387) against current NEC members since joining the Division I ranks. All-time against current conference institutions, the Bulldog basketball program is 50-74 (.403). Entering Thursday action, Bryant is tied with preseason favorite St. Francis Brooklyn for first place in the league standings.
DOMINATING DEFENSE
Despite boasting one of the NEC's top scoring threats and a top-5 scoring duo in seniors Dyami Starks (17.3) and Joe O'Shea (10.4), the Bulldogs have been winning games not for their offensive prowess, but rather for their defensive efforts. Bryant, who ranks just eighth in the league at 63.9 points per game, is second in the NEC in scoring defense (64.9) and tops in field goal percentage defense, limiting opponents to just 41.8 percent accuracy on the year. The Black and Gold also ranks second in 3-point defense (.301), a number that is also good for 43rd in the nation.
JANUARY JUICE
January has proven to be a good month for the Bulldogs over the last few years, and 2014-15 is no exception. Now 5-2 on the month and in first place in the Northeast Conference, Bryant is a combined 17-6 in the first month of the year over the last three campaigns, including a 17-5 mark in league action. The team's five NEC wins this January have come by an average margin of 13.4 points.
GOING STREAKING
Bryant's four-game winning streak may be no more after a 66-57 home loss to Harvard Tuesday night, but the Bulldogs still boast that same streak in NEC play and will look for their fifth-straight league win Thursday night. The now 8-8 Black and Gold have been surging as of late, having now won five of seven contests in 2015 and seven of their last 10 dating back to Dec. 9.
STARKS HITS MORE MILESTONES
Dyami Starks is nearing yet another major career milestone. The senior guard is just 21 points away from scoring 1,500 in his collegiate career and is on pace to hit the mark before his 100th career game. But that isn't all. With 97 career appearances entering Thursday action — 77 of which have come in a Bryant uniform — Starks also netted his 500th career field goal Tuesday night against Harvard (506) and needs 21 more baskets to do so as a Bulldog. He drained his 250th career 3-pointer against the Crimson (252; 233 at Bryant) and also hit his 200th free throw as a Bulldog (215 in career).
STARKS CLIMBS NEC'S ALL-TIME RANKINGS
Bryant senior guard Dyami Starks is also closing in on a major NEC milestone. After becoming the 50th player in NEC history to reach 200 career 3-pointers back on Dec. 3, Starks has been working his way up the league's all-time list. With 233 trifectas over the course of his career at Bryant (2+ seasons), Starks now sits tied for 21st in the conference's all-time rankings. To reach the top-20, the Minnesota native needs to hit just six more treys. Already, Starks is Bryant's Division I leader in threes, and after sinking four Tuesday night against Harvard, the senior moved into fourth on the all-time list. Including his rookie season at Columbia, Starks now has 252 career trifectas.
ALL ABOARD
For the first time this season, the Bulldogs outrebounded their opponent but lost Tuesday night against Harvard. Bryant won the battle on the glass, 36-34, and is averaging six more rebounds per game in January (36.3) than it had through the first two months of the season (30.3). The Black and Gold have pulled in 40 or more rebounds three times this month, including a season-high 45 at LIU Brooklyn to open NEC play on Jan. 3 — just one shy of tying the DI program mark and the most in a game since Feb. 24, 2011 (46 at LIU Brooklyn). The Black and Gold are now 7-1 this season when winning the margin on the glass.
REGULAR JOE
Senior Joe O'Shea has been on fire for the Bulldogs over the last seven contests, averaging 15.3 points and 7.1 rebounds per game while shooting nearly 54 percent from the floor (36-67). The guard has registered double-digit points five times in January and seven times in the last 10 games, surpassing 20 points in a contest for just the second time in his career Jan. 8 against Saint Francis U. (career-high 21). He has recorded 19 points twice since the start of NEC play and pulled in a game-best 10 rebounds on Jan. 5 to tie his career high while also recording the first double-digit rebounding game for any Bryant player this season. O'Shea averages a team-leading 15.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game in NEC action.
THE STATS ON STARKS
Senior guard Dyami Starks enters Thursday's matchup ranked 18th in the national statistics for threes per game (3.13, 1st in NEC). The Duluth, Minn., native also ranks 20th in minutes per game (36:48, 2nd in NEC), 50th in free throw percentage (.854, 1st in NEC), 79th in points per game (17.3, 2nd in NEC) and 84th in 3-point percentage (.360, 2nd in NEC).
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 play their third game of the week Saturday, when they welcome Sacred Heart to the Chace Athletic Center for a 4:00 p.m. matchup. The game is the second half of an NEC men's/women's doubleheader and can be seen live and free-of-charge at NECFrontRow.com and heard on WOON 1240 AM.
