Bulldogs host Mountaineers in first game of 2017 Thursday at 7:00 p.m.

GAME NOTES

SMITHFIELD, R.I. -- The Bryant University men's basketball team begins the new year at home, hosting Mount St. Mary's Thursday at 7:00 p.m. on NECFrontRow.com and WOON 1240 AM (Jon Wallach) 

THE SERIES
Thursday's matchup between the Bulldogs and Mountaineers will be the 17th all-time meeting and 15th as Division I opponents. The Mount leads the series, 10-6, but the all-time series is tied in Smithfield, 4-4, and Bryant holds a 4-3 edge at home since joining the DI ranks. The two sides split the series last season, each winning on the road.  

SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS
Winners of three-straight games and owners of a 2-0 start to league play, the Mountaineers enter Thursday night's tilt led by three double-digit scorers. Sophomore guard Elijah Long leads the team with 14.9 points per game and is hitting 45.2 percent of his three this year (19-42). Junior guard Junior Robinson nets 12.2 points per game and leads the NEC with a .927 clip from the free-throw line, which is 12th nationally. Freshman guard Miles Wilson sits third on the team at 10.1 points per contest, though he's averaging just 24.3 minutes per action. Junior forward Chris Wray tallies 6.1 points per effort on a team-high 53.5 percent from the floor. Sophomore bigman Mawdo Sallah paces the Mount on the glass with 6.1 boards and at the rim with 1.13 blocks per game to sit second in the league, as his team is second 3.8 rejections per contest and a .363 clip from long range. Where the Mount struggle is on the glass, as they sit third to last in the country with 28.6 boards per game. 

CURRENT DAWGS vs. MOUNT ST. MARY'S
There are eight current Bulldogs that have played the Mountaineers in their careers. Sophomore Nisre Zouzoua averaged 17.5 points per game against them last season on a .480 clip from the floor and grabbed 5.0 boards per game. Classmate Marcel Pettway netted 13.0 points per contest and 7.0 rebounds. Senior forward Dan Garvin is averaging roughly nine points in five matchups with the Mount, but he is netting 11.5 points and grabbing 5.7 boards over the last three meetings. As a unit, the Black and Gold shoot 40.9 percent from the floor against the Mountaineers. 

BRYANT vs. THE NORTHEAST CONFERENCE  
The Bulldogs hold an overall record of 48-77 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 39-33 record over the last four seasons. The Black and Gold are 22-15 at home versus the NEC and 20-20 on the road since 2012-13. All-time against current conference institutions, the Bulldog basketball program is 62-94.

LAST TIME OUT
The Bulldogs were neck-and-neck with LIU Brooklyn on New Year's Eve, and held a 20-18 lead with just over 11:00 to play in the first half . But the Blackbirds went on a 28-9 run to close out the half and did not let their lead dip below 10 in the second half to win, 74-63. Sophomore Nisre Zouzoua scored a game-high 23 points and grabbed six rebounds. Freshman Adam Grant scored 12 points and dished out five helpers and sophomore Marcel Pettway tallied 10 points and five rebounds. 

DECEMBER TO FORGET
December has been anything but one to remember for the Bulldogs, who are now just 11-49 in the year's final month since the start of the Division I era (2008-09). Bryant has posted a winning record in the month just once, going 4-2 in 2012-13. The Bulldogs went winless in the month (0-6).

NEW YEAR NEW ME
While Bryant has struggled to close out the year since joining the DI ranks, it has excelled starting the new year. The Bulldogs have won four-straight games in the first contest after the calender turns and Earth becomes a year older, as they are 5-3 at the DI level in the first action of January. 

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 21.4 points per game over the first 14 contests to lead the league and sit 21st nationally, while hitting a conference-best 2.93 triples per game. He has scored 21 points or more in nine outings, including a 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 his first 14 collegiate games. He has netted double-digit points in all but two games this season. Grant is second on the team with 15.3 points per game to sit sixth in the NEC, first among league rookies, and he has a .473 field-goal clip to sit third in the conference. 

FREE WOAH!
Sophomore Nisre Zouzoua went 12-for-12 from the free-throw line in the loss to St. Francis Brooklyn on Dec. 29, 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 on at least 10 attempts. 

DOUBLE TAP
Sophomore Marcel Pettway tallied the season's first double-double (16p, 10r) against St. Francis Brooklyn on Dec. 29, the year's 13th game. It tied for Bryant's longest stretch to start a season without double-double in the program's Division I history, as senior Dan Garvin posted one in the 13th game of the 2014-15 campaign.
 
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. 

WARE DID HE GO
Junior wing Hunter Ware led the Bulldogs in scoring seven times in 2015-16, had four 20-point games and scored in double-figures a team-high 20 times. Ware's role this season has changed dramatically, as he is averaging 15.4 minutes per game off the bench and netting just 2.1 points per game. He has yet to score more than six points this season and hit his first three pointer against the Terriers on Dec. 29 after leading the team with 61 last year.    
 
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 6.1 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.   

TICKET TO RIDE
Single-game and season ticket packages are available for the 2016-17 Bryant University men's and women's basketball seasons. Fans can purchase tickets online at bryantbulldogs.com/tickets or by calling the Bryant Athletics Ticket Office at 401-319-TIXX.

NO TICKET, NO PROBLEM
Bryant University Athletics and the Northeast Conference are once again affiliated with the Pack Network and 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 90 Bryant University home contests during the 2016-17 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 DVR functionality. Visit NECFrontRow.com for more information and a complete schedule of events.

BRYANT HOOPS ON WOON RADIO
For the ninth 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.

ON TAP
The Bulldogs take on the defending league champs for the first time when they travel down I-95 South and battle Fairleigh Dickinson Saturday at 3:00 p.m.