Bulldogs celebrate Senior Day, host regular-season finale against top-seeded St. Francis Brooklyn Saturday (4p)

GAME NOTES

SMITHFIELD, R.I. -- The Bryant University men's basketball team has some control over its own destiny entering the final game of the 2014-15 regular season, as the Bulldogs celebrate Senior Day Saturday afternoon, hosting top-seeded St. Francis Brooklyn at the Chace Athletic Center at 4 p.m. The game can be seen live on NECFrontRow.com and heard locally on WOON 1240AM.

THE SERIES
Saturday's game marks the 11th all-time meeting between the Bulldogs and the Terriers, with St. Francis  Brooklyn holding a 7-3 edge after a win in the first weekend of league action. All three Bryant wins over St. Francis Brooklyn have come in Smithfield, and the Black and Gold own a 3-2 edge in five previous meetings at the Chace Athletic Center.

SCOUTING THE TERRIERS
NEC Player of the Year candidate Jalen Cannon averages a double-double to lead the regular-season champs with 17 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. Brent Jones also averages double figures with 13.8 each time out, while Tyreek Jewell is not far behind at 9.5 per contest. The next highest rebounder for the Terriers is Amdy Fall (5.3 rpg, 7.0 ppg), while Jones is the lead distributor with 159 assists on the year (5.3 per game). The Terriers are the only NEC team with over 20 wins, and they average 69.6 points per game with 38.6 rebounds each time out. St. Francis Brooklyn is shooting 42 percent from the floor.

BRYANT vs. THE NORTHEAST CONFERENCE
The Bulldogs are 11-6 in Northeast Conference play in 2014-15 and sport a 42-62 record (.404) against current NEC members since joining the Division I ranks. All-time against current conference institutions, the Bulldog basketball program is 56-79 (.415). Entering Saturday's action, Bryant sits in a tie with Robert Morris for second place and has clinched a quarterfinal home game in the upcoming Northeast Conference Tournament.

BULLDOGS CLINCH NEC TOURNAMENT BERTH
For the third-straight year, Bryant is moving on to the postseason. The Bulldogs clinched one of eight spots in the 2015 NEC Tournament with a 74-71 win at FDU Feb. 12, and the full tournament field has now been set. But with just one regular-season game left to play, the Bulldogs are still jockeying for position. The Bulldogs can finish no higher than second and no lower than fourth.

PLAYOFF SEEDING PICTURE STILL FUZZY WITH ONE TO PLAY
Parity has reigned supreme once again in the Northeast Conference this season, and with just one game left before the NEC Tournament, not a single matchup has been determined. St. Francis Brooklyn, the tournament's top seed, Robert Morris, Bryant and Mount St. Mary's have all clinched home court advantage for the opening round, but the owners of seven remaining seeds won't be decided until the regular season has run its course.

So where do the Bulldogs currently stand? Bryant can only earn the #2 seed with a win and a Robert Morris loss. If Bryant and Robert Morris both win, the Colonials would take the #2 seed and the Bulldogs would claim the #3 seed. If Bryant loses and Mount St. Mary's wins, then RMU is #2, Mount is #3 and the Bulldogs are #4 heading into the conference tournament.

NICKEL AND DIME
Junior point guard Shane McLaughlin has become a top distributor in the NEC this season and has come on particularly strong since the start of 2015, averaging 5.5 assists per game in the new year. He has set new career highs three times in that span, resetting his personal best for the third time Thursday night with an impressive 12 dimes in a 77-69 win over CCSU. That number is the most for any player in the NEC this season and the most for any Bulldog since current Director of Operations Frankie Dobbs ('13) handed out 13 as a senior against St. Francis Brooklyn back on Feb. 7, 2013. The performance marked the second double-digit assist outing of the season for McLaughlin, who doled out 10 assists with a career-high eight boards Feb. 2 against Pitt. The New Jersey native also picked up the first double-double of his career against the Panthers, chipping in 10 points. On the season, McLaughlin is currently averaging 4.7 assists per game, good for third in the league.

DAN THE MAN
Sophomore forward Dan Garvin has been stellar for the Bulldogs since the start of NEC play. The bigman picked up his sixth double-double of the season and third of the month Thursday night against Central Connecticut with 17 points and a game-high 14 rebounds to help lead Bryant to a 77-69 come-from-behind victory. Since the start of 2015, Garvin is averaging 13.1 points and 8.7 rebounds per game with six double-doubles, three 20-point games and a .570 shooting clip. He also leads the team in blocks (28) and steals (20) this calendar year. The team's leader on the glass, Garvin pulled in 18 boards against FDU Jan. 10 to tie for the third most in the NEC this season and mark the highest total by a Bulldog since Alex Francis ('14) recorded 18 at CCSU on January 12, 2013. Garvin has led the Bulldogs in scoring three times and has paced his team on the glass 16 times this season and 25 times in his career.

CHARITY CASE
For the second time this season, senior guard Dyami Starks was a perfect 10-for-10 from the charity stripe Thursday night against the Blue Devils, marking just the second time in the Bulldogs' Division I program history that a player has gone 100 percent from the line (minimum 10). Starks also did so Jan. 29 against the Red Flash, and the senior hit 12-of-13 from the line at Wagner Jan. 19.

DYNAMIC DYAMI
Senior sharpshooter Dyami Starks has led the Bulldogs on the scoreboard in each of the last seven contests, a run that includes four game highs. During that streak, Starks has averaged 23.1 points per game with a 44.3 percent shooting clip, also converting 37 percent from long range and 92 percent from the line. The stretch has seen the senior captain take over top billing on the NEC's scoring chart at 18.6 points per contest. Starks has led the team in scoring 19 times this season and has done so 43 times in his career.

SWAT TEAM
Sophomore forward Dan Garvin has blocked 10 shots over the last three games, including five last Thursday night at Wagner and four more against CCSU this Thursday night. His five-stuff outing against the Seahawks marked the second such performance this season for Garvin, who also turned away five at Brown Dec. 6 to set the new career high. Garvin is the first to hit the five-block mark since Ben Altit did so against Robert Morris on Feb. 16, 2012, and he currently leads the Bulldogs with 41 stuffs this season. He ranks third in the NEC at 1.46 blocks per game.

STARKS ENTERS NEC'S ALL-TIME TOP-10
After becoming the 50th player in NEC history to reach 200 career 3-pointers back on Dec. 3, senior guard Dyami Starks has been working his way up the league's all-time list, officially joining the top-10 Feb. 21 at home against Robert Morris. Two more treys against CCSU Thursday moved Starks into sole possession of ninth in the all-time rankings with 272 trifectas over the course of his three-year Bryant career. To reach the top-5, the Minnesota native — who currently averages 3.2 triples per game — needs to hit 14 more treys. Already, Starks is Bryant's Division I leader in threes, and the senior moved into fourth on the program's all-time list on Jan. 20. Including his rookie season at Columbia, Starks now has 291 career trifectas, which is good for seventh among all active Division I players.

BULLDOGS IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
Senior guard Dyami Starks enters Saturday's matchup ranked 11th in the national statistics for threes per game (3.18, 1st in NEC). The Duluth, Minn., native also ranks eighth in free throw percentage (.902, 1st in NEC), ninth in minutes per game (37:45, 1st in NEC), 34th in points per game (18.6, 1st in NEC) and 74th in 3-point percentage (.345, 2nd in NEC). Sophomore forward Dan Garvin ranks 79th in rebounds per game (7.8, 3rd in NEC) and 60th in offensive boards per game (3.00, 4th in NEC), while junior guard Shane McLaughlin is 38th in minutes per outing (36:08, 3rd in NEC) and 56th in assists per game (4.7, 3rd in NEC). As a team, the Bulldogs rank 29th in free throw percentage (.739, 1st in NEC), 58th in turnovers per game (11.5, 1st in NEC) and 69th in 3-pointers per game (7.4, 2nd in NEC).

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 open up 2015 postseason play by hosting an NEC Tournament quarterfinal matchup Wednesday, March 4 at 7:00 p.m. Bryant's first-round opponent has not yet been determined.