Bulldogs battle Blackbirds in 2016 finale Saturday at 4:30 p.m.

GAME NOTES

SMITHFIELD, R.I. -- The Bryant University men's basketball team will play its final contest before the new year when it takes on LIU Brooklyn at 4:30 p.m. inside the Steinberg Wellness Center. 

THE SERIES
Saturday's meeting marks the 14th between the Bulldogs and Blackbirds and the seventh in Brooklyn. LIU holds a 8-5 series edge and is 4-2 at home against Bryant. But this weekend's visitors took the most recent meeting in last year's season finale on the road, 88-83.

SCOUTING THE BLACKHAWKS
LIU Brooklyn had the best non-conference record in the NEC at 7-6 and was 7-3 following a win at St. John's, but it has dropped four straight. The Blackbirds are again led by senior forward and pre-season All-NEC selection Jerome Frink at 16.7 points per game, fourth most in the league, on a team-high 47.1 percent from the floor and 8.4 boards per game, second most in the league. Classmate Iverson Flemming is scoring 14.0 points per game and freshman guard Jashaun Agosoto is averaging 11.4 points on a team-best .394 clip from distance. Junior Nura Zanna accompanies Frink in the post to form one of the more formidable front lines in the NEC. Zanna nets 8.8 points per game, also grabs 8.4 boards and has six double-doubles this year to sit first in the conference and 22nd nationally, as Frink has four.     

CURRENT DAWGS vs. LIU BROOKLYN 
There are 10 current Bulldogs that have faced the Blackbirds in their careers. Sophomore Nisre Zouzoua has played LIU just twice, but is averaging 21.0 points per game thanks to what was then a career-high of 29 points on seven triples in last year's season finale. He is hitting 53.6 percent of his shots (15-28) and 52.6 percent of his threes (10-19) against them. Classmate Marcel Pettway is not far behind, averaging 19.5 points per game on a sizzling .760 clip from the floor and 7.5 boards. Senior Dan Garvin has tallied 8.3 points and 7.3 points per effort in four matchups, and junior Gus Riley averaged 8.0 points in the two meetings with LIU last year. 

BRYANT vs. THE NORTHEAST CONFERENCE  
The Bulldogs hold an overall record of 48-76 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 39-32 record over the last four seasons. The Black and Gold are 22-15 at home versus the NEC and 20-19 on the road since 2012-13. All-time against current conference institutions, the Bulldog basketball program is 62-93.

LAST TIME OUT
The Bulldogs opened up Northeast Conference play with a wild game that went into overtime against St. Francis Brooklyn. Bryant led by as many as 12 in the first half and five at halftime. But though the team held the Terriers to 37 percent from the floor and under 27 percent from three, they grabbed a lead with 8:49 left in the second half. Byant could only tie the game on four seperate occassions from that point on, as the sides essentially matched one another shot for shot, allowing St. Francis to win, 80-77. Sophomore Nisre Zouzoua scored a game-high 29 points, 18 in the second half. Classmate Marcel Pettway tallied the team's first double-double this season with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Freshman Adam Grant scored 14 points and senior Dan Garvin netted eight and grabbed nine rebounds in his first game in over a month. 

QUICK HITS

» Free Woah!: Sophomore Nisre Zouzoua went 12-for-12 from the free-throw line in the loss to St. Francis Brooklyn, tying a career high in both categories. The effort was not just a personal best, but it was the most makes at the line without a miss in Bryant's Division I history and just the second time a player had gone perfect from the line with at least 10 attempts. 

» Too Close For Comfort: The Bulldogs are now 0-4 this season in games decided by five points or less, having lost by one, two, three and four points. This is somewhat unusual for the Bulldogs, who had gone 10-2 in games decided by five points or fewer over the last two seasons. 

» OT, OT It's Always Much Fun When We Go To OT: Thursday's overtime loss to St. Francis Brooklyn marked just the 11th game in Bryant's Division I history that went to extra time. The Bulldogs are 4-7 when a contest is decided in OT. 

» Double Tap: Sophomore Marcel Pettway tallied the season's first double-double (16p, 10r) against St. Francis Brooklyn, the year's 13th game. It tied for Bryant's longest stretch to start a season without a double-double in the program's Division I history, as senior Dan Garvin posted one in the 13th game of the 2014-15 campaign. 

» Halftime Needs: The Bulldogs have now lost three-straight games when leading at the half after winning the first two contests that they held a halftime lead this season. 

» See Three? No: After attempting no fewer than 15 triples and making at least five treys in the first 12 games of the season, Bryant shot just 10 deep balls and made just two against St. Francis Brooklyn. The 10 attempts are the third fewest in the program's Division I history. 

AULD LANG SYNE
The Bulldogs broke their New Year's Eve losing streak last season with a 62-60 win at Dartmouth, and they are now 1-3. Bryant played Dartmouth on New Year's Eve each of the last two years, dropping the contest 2014 76-59. The Bulldogs hadn't played on Dec. 31 since 2011 before 2014, when they lost at home to Lehigh, 72-55. The Black and Gold also dropped a New Year's Eve contest at Brown the season prior, falling to the Bears, 84-71, on Dec. 31, 2010. 

JUST ZOO IT
After lighting up the Northeast Conference for over 19.0 points per game to finish out the final month of last season, sophomore Nisre Zouzoua was expected to have a better second campaign. But he has exceeded expecations with an impressive 21.3 points per game over the first 13 contests to lead the league and sit 21st nationally, while hitting a conference-best 3.00 triples per game. He has scored 21 points or more in nine of the last 12 outings, including a new career high of 31 points at Brown on Nov. 28, his second 30-point game of the year. 

GRANTED PERMISSION
Freshman Adam Grant has played like a seasoned vet through 13 games to start his collegiate career. He has netted double-digit points in all but two games this season. Grant is second on the team with 15.5 points per game to sit sixth in the NEC, first among league rookies, and he has a .477 field-goal clip to sit second in the conference. 

EFFECTIVE AND DECEPTIVE
Bryant shot 50% from the floor in the loss to the Terriers (28-56), marking the second time it has lost a game when hitting shots at a .500 clip since this year. The team also did so against Navy on Dec. 6, marking the first time it lost a game when hitting at least half its shots since 2014-15. Since joining the Division I ranks in 2008, the Bulldogs are 35-14 when they hit at least 50% of their shots.      

MR. STEAL YOUR BALL 
The 11 steals against Brown on Nov. 28 were the most for the Bulldogs since the start of the 2014-15 season (69 games). Bryant also theft the Bears 10 times in last season's meeting on Dec. 5, 2015. The team is averaging 6.2 steals per game this year and is on pace to break its previous high for a single season at the Division I level, which was 5.9.   

ON TAP
The Bulldogs return to the Chace Athletic Center and play their first NEC opponent in Smithfield when they welcome Mount St. Mary's on Thursday for a 7:00 p.m. start to the new year.