Bulldogs climb back in second half, but hot shooting cools off in 86-66 loss to Wildcats

EVANSTON, Ill. – Trailing by as many as 21 points in the first half and 13 at halftime, the Bryant University men's basketball caught fire in the second half to get within just three points, but Northwestern closed the final 14:55 on a 44-27 run shooting over 50.0 percent to win Friday's contest, 86-66.

"For a young team playing in such a high level environment, the way we played in the second half was tremendous," said head coach Tim O'Shea.

Nisre Zouzoua (Brockton, Mass.) led all performers with 24 points over the first 25 minutes with five triples. Freshman Adam Grant (Franklin, Va.) poured in 19 points on 6-of-19 shooting and three treys, while doling out four assists. Freshman Ikenna Ndugba (Boston, Mass.) had four points and his young Bulldog (2-4) career-best seven assists and sophomore Marcel Pettway (North Providence, R.I.) tallied four points, a team-high eight rebounds and two blocks.

Vic Law and Scottie Lindsey powered the Wildcats (4-2) with 22 and 20 points, respectively, combining to shoot 59.0 percent (16-27) from the floor and 50.0 percent from deep (6-12). Gavin Skelly tallied a career-high 15 points, Bryant McIntosh and Isiah Brown had eight points each and Derek Pardon had six points a game-best 10 boards.

With the game tied, 5-5, after the first two minutes, Law hit a three from each corner and drained eight-straight points to lead a 12-0 run over a span of 4:20. It gave the Wildcats their first double-digit edge and the lead did not drop below 10 points for the remainder of the half.

The margin got up to 20 at the 8:41 mark when the stretch became a 24-4 run for the Wildcats thanks to a separate 10-0 run in a three-minute span. From the 17:34 mark to the 8:41 mark, the Bulldogs went 2-of-8 from the floor, 0-for-3 from long range and had four turnovers, while the Wildcats went 9-of-13.

Trailing, 36-16, with under 3:00 to play, Zouzoua drained a jumper to spark a 7-2 run to close out the half and get Bryant within 15 at the break, 38-23. The run became 15-2, as the Bulldogs began the second half on an 8-0 run across the first minute behind two triples from Zouzoua to get right back into the game, 38-31.

Two-straight Northwestern baskets pushed them up by double-digits once again at the 17:08 mark, 42-31, but Zouzoua shot his team even closer with eight-straight points to make it 42-39 with 15:29 remaining.

Momentum swung in favor of the Wildcats from there with six-straight points capped off by two steals and two fast-break buckets. It was the start of a 19-4 stretch that spanned 6:28 and gave the Wildcats a comfortable 61-43 lead with 9:01 to play.

The lead got no lower than 14 the rest of the way and sprouted to as much as 25, as Bryant could not maintain the hot shooting and fell, 86-66.   

"After the slow start we had and the hole we had to dig out of, battled back was really encouraging," said O'Shea. "I think when we watch the tape we'll ultimately be pleased and the way we competed. With so many games in the last week, our biggest challenge will be getting guys healthy and fresh for yet another quick turnaround."

The Bulldogs return to Rhode Island for the first time in what will be 13 days when they take on intrastate foe Brown in Providence Monday at 7:00 p.m.