Bears outlast Bulldogs on layup in final seconds, 91-90, Monday night in Providence

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Having led for just 46 seconds all game, sophomore Nisre Zouzoua (Brockton, Mass.) drained what looked like the winning three with 10 ticks remaining, but Brown took it to the rack and hit a layup with just three seconds on the clock, as time ran out to hand the Bryant University men's basketball team a 91-90 loss Monday night.

"Overall this was a great college basketball game to coach and be a part of," said head coach Tim O'Shea.

Zouzoua went for a new career-high 31 points on 8-of-20 shooting, five triples and 10-of-11 from the free-throw line along with six boards and five steals. Freshman Adam Grant (Franklin, Va.) tallied 20 points despite not hitting a three for the first time in his young Bulldog (2-5) career, and junior Bosko Kostur (Melbourne, Australia) netted a season-best 16 points to go along with a team-high seven boards.

"Nisre was fantastic again and hit a big shot at the end for us," said O'Shea. "After not playing much through the first six games, Bosko was tremendous for us tonight as well which we really needed."

Four Bears (3-4) finished in double-figures, led by Joshua Howard with 18 on a 50.0 percent clip from the floor. Steven Spieth netted 16 points, pulled down five rebounds and had a game-best nine assists, JR Hobbie drained five threes of the bench and Travis Fuller had 11 points on a perfect 4-for-4 mark from the field.  

The Bears were able to extend the lead to as many as seven midway through the second half, as Bryant was unable to get any closer than two for an eight minute stretch taking the game down to the final minute.

Following an Ikenna Ndugba (Boston, Mass.) reverse, the freshman point guard got a steal on the other end which led to a shooting foul, sending Marcel Pettway (North Providence, R.I.) to the line. He missed both attempts, but the Bulldogs grabbed the offensive carom, missed an ensuing jumper before Pettway grabbed another board and he hit a layin to make it 89-87 with under a minute to play.

The Bears ran the shot clock all the way down and missed a 15-footer on the other end, setting the visitors up with a chance to tie or take the lead with under 30 seconds left. Zouzoua sunk his fifth trey of the night on a step-back in front of his bench to give the Bulldogs a 90-89 edge with 11 ticks remaining. But Tavon Blackmon worked quickly up the floor and buried a layup with just three seconds, and time expired on Ndugba before he was able to cross half court.

"Their senior Blackmon really showed his experience and made great use of the clock to put his team ahead," said O'Shea. "It was tough for us at the end, we misjudged the clock given the score, but a game like this will make us better going forward." 

The Bears scored the first five points of the contest before Bryant rattled off seven of the next nine points to tie the game at the 15:45 mark. But Brown went on an 11-1 run over the next four minutes to take a double-digit edge, 18-8, behind points from four different players.

The lead remained no fewer than five points and built up to as many as 11 at the 7:33 mark on a Fuller layin, making it 28-17. Zouzoua hit consecutive triples from the right corner and Grant added a hard-earned three-point play to spark an 11-2 Bryant run to get it right back in the game with 4:13 remaining in the half.

Grant's layup was his first of three straight at the rim to cut into the deficit, but Brown kept answering with triples, as Hobbie hit a pair and Corey Daugherty hit one to help give Brown a 43-39 lead at the break.

Both sides exchanged shots over the first four minutes of the second half to keep the margin at three, 52-49. Following a Pettway steal, Grant soared for an offensive board and got fouled on the follow up. He hit both free throws to cut the Brown lead to one, 52-51.

The Bulldogs took their first lead of the contest on the following possession on a Zouzoua layup. The visitors held the one-point lead at the 13:12 mark, but the Bears utilized an 11-2 run over the next 2:15 to give themselves a 67-59 advantage.

Brown led by no fewer than five for nearly three minutes and went up by eight at the 8:53 mark on another Hobbie triple, which made it 72-64. Zouzoua answered with a trey of his own as he was fouled. He converted the four-point play to kickstart six-straight points, pulling the Bulldogs within two, 72-70.

"Leads were tough to come by, but our guys showed a lot of resolve, especially at the end to keep battling the way they did," said O'Shea.  

From there, Brown was able to expand the margin and held onto the lead up until those wild 30 seconds to end the game.  

Both sides shot very well from the floor, as Bryant shot 49.2 percent (30-61) and Brown hit 54.8 percent (34-62) of its shots. The hosts took advantage inside with 50 points in the paint, none more important than Blackmon's winner.   

"We'll have to learn from this and turn our attention very quickly to Yale," said O'Shea. 

The Bulldogs will look to shake off the tough loss when they return to the Chace Athletic Center against Yale, Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.