SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant men's basketball team kicks off a busy day of hoops in the Ocean State as it hosts UMBC at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday at the Chace Athletic Center.
Bryant's early tip vs the Retrievers is the first of four games on tap in the state with URI (4:00 p.m.), Brown (6:00 p.m.) and Providence (6:00 p.m.) all scheduled later in the afternoon. Saturday will also be Bryant's penultimate home game of the regular season. The Bulldogs hit the road following the contest for games at Vermont (Feb. 20), UMass Lowell (Feb. 27) and Maine (Mar. 1).
Tickets for Saturday can be purchased at
BryantBulldogs.com/tickets.
The Particulars
Opponent: UMBC
Location: Chace Athletic Center (Smithfield, R.I.)
Date and Time: Saturday, Feb. 15 - 1:00 PM
Live Stats: Sidearm
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: WJMF
Tickets: Buy Now
Game Notes: Bryant | UMBC
Social Media: Facebook |
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Instagram | #AEMBB
THE SERIES
- Bryant owns a 3-2 lead in the DI series history with UMBC. The Bulldogs have won each of the last three games, including a 92-86 victory in Baltimore on Jan. 30, 2025.
- In a game that aired on ESPNU, Bryant weathered a second-half rally by the Retrievers. The Bulldogs led by 10 early in the second half but UMBC rallied to take a 68-64 lead with just over 11:00 left. Aaron Davis then hit two consecutive threes to tie the score at 70-70. UMBC would take an 81-80 lead with 4:13 left but Rafael Pinzon gave Bryant the lead for good with a three on the next possession.
- Four of the five games in the series have been decided by eight points or less. The Retrievers won both games in 2023, 81-73 and 76-73.
BRYANT ROLLS PAST NJIT ON THURSDAY
- Bryant improved to 7-3 at home with an 88-66 victory over NJIT on Thursday night at the Chace. The Bulldogs shot a season-best 53.6 percent from the field in the contest.
- Earl Timberlake (21 pts, 10 reb) and Barry Evans (15 pts, 10 reb, 5 ast) each finished with double-doubles to lead five Bulldogs in double figures.
- Thursday's game was tight for the first 10 minutes but the Black and Gold outscored the Highlanders 23-10 to close the half and never looked back.
HISTORY IN THE MAKING
- Earl Timberlake has put together one of the greatest careers in Bryant basketball history. He enters Saturday with 1,194 points, 715 rebounds, 304 assists and 98 blocks in his Bulldog career.
- Last Saturday at Binghamton, he surpassed Frankie Dobbs for fifth in DI program history in scoring and became only the fourth player (Alex Francis, Dan Garvin, Charles Pride) to reach 700 career rebounds. He moved past Dan Garvin and into third place on Thursday night vs NJIT.
- Timberlake now sits 36 rebounds shy of second place in DI program history.
- Timberlake is also the the fifth to reach 300 career assists.
- He is the only player in program history with 1,000+ points, 700+ rebounds and 300+ assists.
RAF REACHES 1,000
- Rafael Pinzon reached a personal milestone on Thursday night as he surpassed 1,000 career points. Pinzon's three from the top at the 4:22 mark gave him 1,001 career points.
- Pinzon has scored 844 of those points as a member of the Bulldogs after transferring from St. John's prior to the 2023-24 season. He is averaging 15.1 ppg in his Bryant career.
FIVE MORE THINGS TO KNOW
- Bryant enters Saturday averaging a league-best 83.5 ppg in America East games. The Black and Gold have scored 80+ points in 8-of-11 games. Bryant also ranks first in field goal defense (.392), 3pFG/game (8.5), rebounding (41.9, +6.3), turnovers (9.2) and blocks (7.18).
- Timberlake is now averaging 15.5 ppg, 8.7 rpg and 4.6 apg on the year. In league play, he is averaging 14.5 ppg, 10.1 rpg, 4.6 apg and 2.5 bpg. Timberlake recorded his 10th double-double of the year and the 30th of his career on Thursday.
- Connor Withers has now scored in double figures in all 11 America East games after posting 12 points on Thursday. He also added a season-high seven assists vs NJIT. In AE-only games, Withers ranks 10th in scoring, 13th in rebounding, 1st in 3pFG/game (3.1), 4th in assists (4.0), 4th in blocks (1.4) and 6th in steals (1.6).
- Evans' double-double on Thursday was his fifth of the year. He is now averaging 13.4 ppg and 6.7 rpg in America East contests.
- Keyshawn Mitchell collected four offensive rebounds on Thursday vs NJIT and ranks second in the league with 2.8 offensive rebounds per game in America East contests. Mitchell is averaging 6.4 rpg in league play.
