Bulldogs host Red Flash in NEC Tournament showdown Wednesday

FULL GAME NOTES
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SMITHFIELD, R.I. -- The third-seeded Bryant University men's basketball team hosts sixth-seeded Saint Francis University in the Northeast Conference Tournament Quarterfinals Wednesday night at the Chace Athletic Center, with the winner advancing to Saturday's NEC Semifinals. Tip is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

THE SERIES
Bryant holds the 6-2 series edge and has won the last three matchups between the sides, including the only meeting of the 2013-14 season, 77-67, back on Jan. 9 in Smithfield. The Black and Gold are 3-1 all-time against Saint Francis U. at the Chace Athletic Center and have won five of the last six meetings. This is the first time the Bulldogs and the Red Flash have faced off in the postseason.

SCOUTING THE RED FLASH
Led by All-NEC Second Teamer Earl Brown and NEC Rookie of the Year Malik Harmon, Saint Francis U. tied for sixth overall and wrapped up the No. 6 seed in the NEC Tournament despite ending the regular season on back-to-back losses at Wagner and at Mount St. Mary's. The Red Flash enter postseason play with a 9-20 overall record and a 7-9 mark in NEC action. Brown paces Saint Francis U., averaging 14.5 points and 8.1 rebounds per game, with Harmon adding 8.8 points and 3.0 assists each time out. As a team, the Red Flash average 62.2 points per game and shoot 41.1 percent from the field.

BRYANT vs. THE NORTHEAST CONFERENCE
The Bulldogs are 10-6 against the Northeast Conference in 2013-14 with a 31-55 record (.360) against current NEC members since joining the Division I ranks. All-time against current conference institutions, the Bulldog basketball program is 45-72 (.385). Bryant went 10-6 against league opponents this season, finishing third in the regular-season standings to earn the No. 3 seed in the 2014 NEC Tournament.

THIS SEASON vs. SAINT FRANCIS U.
The Bulldogs won the only meeting between the sides this season, 77-67, in the NEC opener January 9 despite a second-half push from the visiting Red Flash. Senior forward Alex Francis led all scorers with 23 points and added a side-best eight rebounds. Senior guard Corey Maynard chipped in 18 points, seven boards and four steals while shooting 50 percent from the floor (7-14), while junior Dyami Starks scored 16, including a 4-for-6 mark from long range. Rookie Dan Garvin posted a career-high four blocks in the outing. Saint Francis was led by 13 points from both Ben Millaud-Meunier and Ollie Jackson, with Earl Brown adding the game's only double-double (10 points, 11 rebounds). Bryant went 15-of-22 from the line on the day to Saint Francis's 15-for-20 mark. The visitors edged the Bulldogs on the glass, 32-30, while the hosts finished the day with five blocks. Saint Francis shot 46.7 percent from the floor and gave away 17 turnovers. The Bulldogs limited their miscues to nine and shot 49.1 percent in the contest.

QUICK HITS
» First Time for Everything: The Bulldogs will be looking for their first-ever Division I postseason victory Wednesday night.

» Home Sweet Home: After posting an 11-3 mark at the Chace Athletic Center in the 2013-14 regular season, Smithfield is where the Bulldogs want to be to open the postseason. Bryant went 6-2 at home against league competition.

» Double or Nothing: Bryant qualifies for the NEC Tournament for the second-straight season in just its second season of eligibility, securing its highest seed ever in its short Division I postseason history.

» Three's Company: Bryant was the only team to see three of its players named to the top all-conference units, with senior forward Alex Francis repeating on the All-NEC First Team, junior guard Dyami Starks repeating as an All-NEC Second Team pick and senior guard Corey Maynard earning his first-career postseason honor with an All-NEC Third Team nod. That brings Bryant's program total to nine since first becoming eligible for postseason honors in 2009-10. Check out the full note below for details of exactly which Bulldog players turned heads this season, according to the ballots.

» Charge to 20: With an NEC Quarterfinal victory, Bryant would tie its Division I record for wins in a season (19) and earn the right to play for its first 20-win campaign of the DI era in the NEC Semifinals. The last Bulldog squad to win 20 games was the 2006-07 edition, led by current assistant coach and then-senior captain Chris Burns. That team finished the year 21-11 with Burns as its leading scorer (15.8 ppg).

END IT ON A HIGH NOTE
For the second-straight season, two Bulldogs recorded double-doubles in the team's final regular-season game, this year an 81-62 road victory over LIU Brooklyn. Junior Joe O'Shea picked up the first double-double of his collegiate career, scoring 12 points and pulling in a career-high 10 rebounds, while senior Alex Francis picked up his 11th such performance of the season (37th of his career) with 15 points and a game-high 11 boards.

The Bulldogs also saw five players record double-figure points in the win, including a career-high 15 from sophomore guard Shane McLaughlin, who went a perfect 6-for-6 from the floor in the outing (3-for-3 from 3-point range).

SMITHFIELD 500
For the second-straight season, senior forward Alex Francis (588) and junior guard Dyami Starks (547) both finished the season with over 500 points. Francis has now topped the 500-point mark in each of his last three season after posting 443 as a rookie. The senior needs just 12 points to become the first Bryant player to score 600 points in a season since John Williams did so in 2005-06 (628 points) and would be the first to do so at the DI level. Prior to the 2012-13 season, the last time two players scored 500 points in the same season was back in 1978-79, when Ernie DeWitt (531) and John Mangum (514) teamed up for the feat.

O'SHEA IT AIN'T SO
Junior Joe O'Shea has been impressive over the last two weeks of the regular season, posting three of the best outings of his season. The swingman scored a season-high 19 points against Central Connecticut at home Feb. 22 before adding 18 more in last Monday's makeup game at Mount St. Mary's, going 7-of-12 from the field in both efforts. In Saturday's regular-season finale, he picked up 12 more points with 10 rebounds for the first double-double of his career. Over the last four games, O'Shea is averaging 14.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per game with a 51.3 percent shooting clip and a 9-for-22 mark (.409) from long range.

BLOCKHEAD
Rookie Dan Garvin paced the team on the block this season, rejecting 36 shots in just 26 games to rank sixth on the league circuit. His 1.38 stuffs per game are the most of any rookie in the NEC this season, as the frosh compliments his defense with 6.2 points and 4.9 rebounds per contest.

HISTORY IN THE MAKING: FRANCIS EYES TWO MORE NEC FIRSTS
It has been a historic season for senior forward Alex Francis and the NEC. Having already scored his 2,000th career point at Wagner on Feb. 16, the New York native is just 16 boards shy of yet another incredible career milestone — his 1,000th rebound. Should he reach the mark, Francis would close out his exceptional career as the first player in NEC history to eclipse both landmark numbers. He would be just the second player in Bryant history in the 2,000/1,000 club (Ernie DeWitt - 2,239/1,036) and the first at the Division I level.

With just one single point in Wednesday's NEC Quarterfinal, Francis would also move into the top 5 on the NEC's all-time scoring list and earn yet another first-time distinction as the only player to finish his career ranked in the top 5 in both the career scoring and career rebounding columns. Francis currently ranks fourth all-time on the glass with 984.

The two-time NEC First Teamer is already the first player in NEC history to achieve a top-10 ranking in both career points and career rebounds and became only the sixth player in NEC history to reach the 2,000-point mark. He was just the third in Bryant history to do so, joining Tom Smile (2,390 from 1963-67) and Ernie DeWitt (2,239 from 1977-81). He enters Wednesday's game as the NEC's active leader scoring and rebounding.

BULLDOG TRIO EARNS ALL-NEC ACCOLADES
For the second-straight season, the Bryant University men's basketball team caps off a stellar regular season with a trio of all-conference honorees, as senior forward Alex Francis, junior guard Dyami Starks and senior guard Corey Maynard all garnered postseason accolades for their 2013-14 performances.

The trio is headlined by Francis, who takes home his second-straight All-NEC First Team nod, while Starks also repeats last year's honor with a place on the all-league second team. Maynard caps off his impressive Bulldog career with his first postseason recognition, named to the All-NEC Third Team. Bryant is the only team to see three players selected to the top three all-conference squads.

Francis began his stellar career at Bryant by winning the NEC Rookie of the Year award and ends it with back-to-back First Team All-NEC nods. An elite-level athlete, Francis finishes around the hoop like few in recent NEC memory, and has the numbers to back it up. With 2,078 points and 984 boards, the Harlem, N.Y., product could become the first player in conference history to finish with 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds for his career. He is sixth all-time on the NEC's list of leading scorers and with one point will become the only player in league annals to rank in the top-five in career scoring and rebounding. This season, Francis is third in the NEC in point production (19.0), second in rebounding (8.3) and first in field goal percentage (.578) and double-doubles (11).

There are few NEC players in recent memory who have the ability to put up points in a hurry like Starks. Adept firing from long range or attacking the rim, Starks was a four-time Choice Hotels/NEC Player of the Week in 2013-14. He started the year dropping 35 points against nationally ranked Gonzaga and never looked back, finishing the regular season fourth in the NEC with 18.9 ppg. Starks, a Duluth, Minn., native, is also third in the league with 2.9 treys per game and has tallied five games of 30+ points on the year. In the two seasons since his arrival, Bryant has won 37 games and Starks has amassed 1,095 points.

After playing off the ball much of his career, Maynard eased into the starting point guard role for Bryant this season and didn't miss a beat. A player capable of burning opponents from long distance (35 3-pointers), driving to the hoop (56.7 percent on two-point opportunities) or via the pass (team-best 4.3 assists per game), the Australian native has been a fixture for the Bulldogs, who enter the NEC Tournament as the No. 3 seed. Maynard is averaging 13.5 ppg, good for 11th in the conference, and he enters the postseason with 1,043 career points.

POTENT PAIR
There have been some great one-two punches in NEC basketball in recent years, but over the last two years, senior forward Alex Francis and junior guard Dyami Starks take a back seat to no one. In fact, Starks (18.9) and Francis (19.0) are currently the seventh-highest scoring duo in the country, combining for 37.9 points per game this season. Only pairs from Delaware (39.6), Missouri (38.5), Lousiana-Lafayette (38.5),  Southeast Missouri State (38.5), Auburn (38.4) and VMI (38.3) average more in tandem.

Starks and Francis could go down as the NEC's highest scoring duo since LIU Brooklyn Charles Jones (29.0) and Mike Campbell (19.7) combined for 48.7 points per game in 1997-98. The St. Francis Brooklyn duo of Steven Howard (20.2) and Richy Dominguez (19.1) totaled 39.5 points per outing and ranked one-two in the NEC in scoring in 2000-01. Francis currently ranks third in the league and Starks fourth in point production.

WELCOME TO THE CLUB
Senior guard Corey Maynard laid in a breakaway basket 3:41 into the second half Feb. 22 against Central Connecticut and with the score became the 35th and newest member of Bryant's 1,000-point club. The Aussie native is the second Bulldog this season to join the elite group, after junior guard Dyami Starks scored his 1,000th at home on Jan. 23 against LIU Brooklyn. Over the last two seasons, four players have now accomplished the feat, with current senior Alex Francis (2,078 points) and Director of Operations Frankie Dobbs (1,232 points) each joined the club in 2012-13.

FRANCHISE FRANCIS: IN THE NCAA RANKINGS
In the latest NCAA rankings, Bryant senior forward Alex Francis currently sits among the top active NCAA Division I players in numerous categories. As of March 2, the senior is ranked second in career field goals (788), fifth in career double-doubles (37), sixth in total points (2,078), sixth in total rebounds (984), 13th in free throws made (489), 18th in career scoring average (17.0 ppg) and 26th in rebounding average (8.1). He is one of just three active players to have 2,000 points and 750 rebounds to his name. Francis also ranks 20th in field goal percentage this season (.578) and is 48th in points per game (19.0) this season.

FRANCHISE FRANCIS: IN THE NEC RANKINGS
Bryant senior forward Alex Francis reached yet another plateau on his march up the NEC career scoring chart and currently ranks sixth all-time with 2,078 career points. He has now passed three NEC Hall of Famer in his trip up the league's all-time scoring ladder (FDU's Desi Wilson, Marist's Rik Smits, RMU's Myron Walker), and the senior forward will now look  to cross into the NEC top-5. He needs just two more points to take sole possession of fifth from 2013 Sacred Heart grad Shane Gibson. Francis also moves into the No. 4 spot on the league's all-time rebounding list, with 984 in his career. Francis currently occupies spots in the NEC top-3 in scoring (19.0, third), rebounding (8.3, tied for first) and field goal percentage (.578, 1st).

FRANCHISE FRANCIS: IN THE BRYANT RANKINGS
Senior Alex Francis has long been seated among the greatest scorers and rebounders the program has ever seen, and the forward enters what could be his last collegiate contest ranked third on the all-time scoring list. Francis also enters Wednesday's NEC Quarterfinal ranked fourth on the rebounding charts with 984 in his career, needing just three more to reach third all time. He also ranks in the program's top-10 in scoring average, field goals, field goal percentage, free throws made and rebounding average.

DUNK COUNT
The reign of senior Alex Francis holds strong in the dunk count of 2013-14, but rookie forward Dan Garvin has also gotten some hangtime this season, with the pair combining for 38 dunks. Junior Dyami Starks threw down his first dunk of his Bulldog career in a win over St. Francis Brooklyn Jan. 25 and classmate Joe O'Shea scored the first slam of his career Feb. 22 to bring the total to 40 on the year.

TICKET TO RIDE
Single-game tickets are available for the 2014 Bryant University men's and women's NEC Tournaments. Fans can purchase tickets 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 in 2013-14. NEC Front Row brings viewers an industry-leading video streaming solution for more than 100 Bryant University home contests during the 2013-14 athletic seasons, including live, free-of-charge broadcasts of all Bulldog home and in-conference road men's basketball games. Live event productions include multiple camera angles, an on-screen scoreboard and state-of-the-art graphics. Visit necfrontrow.com for more information and a schedule of events.

BRYANT HOOPS ON WOON RADIO
For the sixth-consecutive season, all Bryant University basketball home games and select road contests can be heard LIVE on WOON 1240 AM and online at bryantbulldogs.com. 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.