Bulldogs battle Blackbirds on Saturday in a 4 p.m. home tilt

GAME NOTES

SMITHFIELD, R.I. -- The Bryant University men's basketball team plays the second of a four-game homestand, taking on LIU Brooklyn on Saturday at 7 p.m. in the Chace Athletic Center. The contest can be seen on NECFrontRow.com and heard on WOON 1240 AM (John Wallach and Tristan Hobbes).

THE SERIES
Saturday's game is the 13th all-time meeting between the two programs, and while LIU has a 7-5 edge in the series, the Bulldogs have won four-straight tilts, including a 74-69 victory in Smithfield in the most recent contest. The Blackbirds had won six-straight games against Bryant before the Bulldogs swept the last two season series.

SCOUTING THE BLACKBIRDS
The Blackbirds are paced by three scorers averaging double-digits. Junior forward Jerome Frink leads the squad in points (17.1), rebounds per action (8.9) and shooting percentage (.540 clip), numbers that rank him third, first and first, respectively, in the NEC. Sophomore guard Martin Hermannsson nets 14.8 points per effortwhile shooting 87.5 percent from the free-throw line, ranking him second in the league and 25th nationally. Junior point Aakim Saintil averages 13.5 points per game and leads the team with 4.9 assists per contest, sitting him second in the league behind Bryant senior Shane McLaughlin. LIU charts 72.4 points a night despite shooting a league worst 28.8 percent from long range.  

CURRENT BULLDOGS vs. LIU BROOKLYN
Seven current Bulldogs have played the Blackbirds in their careers, with six having done so more than once. Junior forward Dan Garvin averages 9.0 points and 6.3 rebounds in three career  meetings with LIU Brooklyn, while senior captain Shane McLaughlin follows with his 8.8 points per game average in five matchups against the Blackbirds. Sophomore Hunter Ware nets 6.5 points per effort in his two career games, senior Curtis Oakley Jr. averages 4.8 points in four encounters, and junior Andrew Scocca inks 2.0 and 7.0 caroms in two games against the Blackbirds. As a unit, current Black and Gold players are shooting 46.4 percent from the floor (39-84) and 38.7 percent from the long range (12-31).      

BRYANT vs. THE NORTHEAST CONFERENCE  
The Bulldogs are 4-1 against Northeast Conference competition in 2015-16 with an overall record of 47-63 (.427) against current NEC members since joining the Division I ranks. Prior to the 2012-13 campaign, Bryant held a 9-44 record against conference opponents, but has recorded a 38-19 record (.666) over the last three seasons. The Black and Gold are 22-8 at home versus the NEC and 19-13 on the road since 2012-13. All-time against current conference institutions, the Bulldog basketball program is 61-80 (.433). Bryant finished 2014-15 NEC play with a 12-6 league record, earning the No. 3 seed in the 2015 NEC Tournament, and won its first postseason game at the DI level by defeating Sacred Heart, 91-85, in the Quartefinals.

MCLAUGLIN SINKS GAME WINNER - LAST TIME OUT
The Bulldogs trailed by six with under four to play, but faught back to tie the game, setting up a jumper from senior guard Shane McLaughlin with 1.3 seconds remaining that ended up being the game winner in the 61-59 victory over St. Francis Brooklyn on Thursday night. Sophomore wing Hunter Ware led the Bulldogs with 14 points and four made treys, as junior forward Dan Garvin and frosh Nisre Zouzoua netted 10 points apiece and combined for 10 boards. Freshman bigman Marcel Pettway recorded his fourth-career double-double with 12 points and a game-best 12 caroms. Tyreek Jewell charged the Terriers and headed all scorers with 20 points, shooting 50 percent from both the floor (6-12) and from beyond the arc (4-8). Amdy Fall recorded his double-double, tallying 12 points and 10 boards. The Black and Gold shot 43 percent from the field (25-58) and 46 percent from long range (6-13), while the Terriers shot just 36.8 percent from floor (21-57) and 27.6 percent from downtown (8-29).

QUICK HITS
» 40/30 Club: After holding the Terriers to just 36.8 percent from the floor and 27.6 percent from distance in Thursday's win, the Bulldogs are now 20-2 when holding teams to under 40 percent from the field and to a .300 clip or worse from long range since the start of the 2011-12 campaign.

» 2:00 Minute Warning: The Bulldogs defeated Mount St. Mary's on Jan. 9 in double-overtime, despite trailing with two minutes to go, making it the first time since Dec. 30, 2013 that they have won a game when behind at the 2:00 mark. Bryant is just 8-69 since joining the Division I ranks when trailing with two minutes remaining in a contest.

» Aided by 80: The Bulldogs are 4-0 this season when scoring 80 or more points, and hold a 22-2 record at the DI level when posting 80 or more points.

» Close Call: After opening the season with six consecutive games being decided by at least 10 points, (eight of the first 10 contests overall), the Bulldogs have had just two outcomes decided by double-digits over their last eight outings, four of which were Bryant wins by a combined 12 points.  

MODEL OF ASSISTANCY
Senior captain Shane McLaughlin nearly charted a triple-double by netting 21 points, grabbing a career-high 10 caroms, and dishing out eight assists in the 2OT win over Mount St. Mary's on Jan. 9, making the guard the first player in Bryant's Division I history to record at least 20 points, 10 boards and five assists in a game. McLaughlin has now distributed at least five assists in seven-straight contests. The Old Tappan, N.J. native leads the Northeast Conference in assists per game (5.2).  

HIGH MILEAGE FOR McLAUGHLIN
Senior point guard Shane McLaughlin is once again proving to be a workhorse for the Bulldogs on the court, playing 34 minutes or more in 17 of the season's first 18 contests. The Old Tappan, N.J., native was third in the NEC last year with an average of 36.68 minutes per game and currently sits first as a senior with an average of 38.00 minutes per outing (third nationally). As a starter (63 games), McLaughlin has played 37 minutes or more 35 times. He has played the entire game nine times in the span, including all 50 minutes in a double-overtime win against Sacred Heart in last year's NEC Tournament. McLaughlin logged 48 minutes on the floor in the double-overtime win over Mount St. Mary's on Jan. 9.

ON THE REBOUND
The Bulldogs have been outrebounded in 16 of their 16 games this season, losing the battle on the glass in each of the first 12 games to begin the year. This was the first time in the program's Division I history the team had opened a campaign on the short side on the glass in 12-straight outings. The last time the Bulldogs were outboarded in more than seven-straight games at any point in a season was back in 2011-12, when the team lost the battle on the boards in nine-consecutive games from Nov. 27-Jan. 5. To find the last time the squad was outrebounded in 12 or more straight contests, you must look all the way back to the 2009-10 season, when the Bulldogs lost the board battle in 20 in a row from Dec. 3-Feb. 13. Bryant currently ranks 311th in Division I in rebounding margin (-4.9).

FREE THROW WOES
The Bulldogs have struggled from the charity stripe throughout the 2015-16 season, finishing under 60 percent in eight of the team's 18 contests. Bryant's worst performance of the year came Nov. 28 against Georgetown, when the Black and Gold went just 5-for-15 from the line (.333), converting less than 40 percent of their free throw attempts for the first time since a 4-of-11 (.364) performance against Mount St. Mary's back on Jan. 14, 2012. Bryant has finished at 50 percent or less six times this season (.462 vs. Prairie View A&M, .462 at Yale, .500 at Michigan, .500 at Providence, .500 at Duke) and currently ranks seventh to last in Division I with a 60.6 percent clip on the year.

THE NAME IS ZOUZOUA
Freshman Nisre Zouzoua made a name for himself in the first two games of his collegiate career and has gotten back on track as of late. He scored 16 points in his debut at No. 5 Duke, only to follow that up with a career-high 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting against Emerson. Zouzoua started 0-for-2 against the Lions but then made his next eight shots from the field on his way to his career day. And after six-consecutive single-digit outings, the Brockton, Mass., native has scored in double-digits in eight of the last 10 games, averaging 11.8 points per contest since Dec. 5. In a 76-68 loss to Brown, Zouzoua drained four treys en route to a team-high 18 points. He then led the team in scoring for the third time in his young collegiate career with 17 points in a 77-55 loss to Army on Dec. 8 and followed that up with 11 points and a trio of 3-pointers at No. 15/18 Providence on Dec. 12.  After an eight-point output at Michigan on Dec. 23, the rookie scored 13 at Dartmouth on New Year's Eve, 11 vs. CCSU on Jan. 2, and 13 at FDU on Jan. 4. After just scoring two points in the Jan. 7 loss at Wagner, Zouzoua was second on the squad with 15 points in the double-overtime win over Mount St. Mary's two days later. He was on the court for a career-long 43 minutes, and gave the Bulldogs their first lead of the contest in the second OT, a lead they held all the eay to final whistle.

WARE, OH WARE
Sophomore guard Hunter Ware has emerged as an offensive weapon to be reckoned with in the 2015-16 season. The Georgia native averages a team-high 13.8 points per game, ranking him ninth in the NEC while shooting 43.1 percent from the field (87-202) and over 40 percent (38-94) from long range. Ware opened the season with two of the best offensive performances of his career, logging back-to-back 20-point outings that included a career-high 24 points in the Nov. 14 season opener at No. 5/4 Duke. He reset his season-best with 26 points at Michigan while matching a career-best six triples.

LINEUP DANCING
Through 18 games in this 2015-16 campaign, the Bulldogs have unveiled eight variations of their starting lineup. Head coach Tim O'Shea has repeated a starting lineup just twice this year, but has found success in a consistent opening five of late. The cast of senior Shane McLaughlin, sophomore Hunter Ware, freshman Nisre Zouzoua, freshman Marcel Pettway and junior Dan Garvin have earned nine-consecutive starting nods from Dec. 8 - Jan. 14. The Bulldogs have not seen eight or more editions of a starting lineup since the 2011-12 season.

TICKET TO RIDE
Single-game and partial season ticket packages are available for the 2015-16 Bryant University men's and women's basketball seasons. Fans can purchase tickets online at
bryantbulldogs.com/tickets or by calling the Bryant University 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 2015-16 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 eighth 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 alongside color analyst Tristan Hobbes.

UP NEXT
The Bulldogs continue their four-game homestand on Thursday when they take on Saint Francis University at 7:00 p.m. in the Chace Athletic Center.