Bulldogs set eyes on Wagner to start three-game homestand Thursday at 7:00 p.m.

GAME NOTES

SMITHFIELD, R.I. -- The Bryant University men's basketball team begins a three-game homestand that starts with the defending Northeast Conference regular-season champs Wagner Thursday at 7:00 p.m. on NECFrontRow.com and WOON 1240 AM (Jon Wallach and Tristan Hobbes).

THE SERIES
Thursday's meeting between the Bulldogs and Seahawks will be the 13th in the series, as this week's visitors hold an 8-4 lead. Both sides have swept in the last two seasons, as Wagner won both games last year including its largest win in the series, a 79-55 triumph in Smithfield. 

SCOUTING THE SEAHAWKS
The defending Northeast Conference regular-season champions are in the midst of yet another strong season and just two combined points away from being 4-0 in the league and riding a five-game winning streak. The Seahawks defeated CCSU and Sacred Heart by a combined 36 points and fell to Mount St. Mary's and FDU by one point each. The Seahawks are led by their dynamic duo in the backcourt.  Junior Corey Henson leads the team with 14.2 points per game and is shooting 42.6 percent from the floor, while senior Michael Carey nets 11.8 points and grabs the second-most rebounds per game in the league at 8.8. Carey is a double-double machine with three this season, as he scored 21 points and pulled down 22 boards against Sacred Heart on Saturday. Senior bigman Mike Aaman nets 8.9 points on a team-high .517 clip from the field to pair with 6.2 caroms per game, junior guard JoJo Cooper scores 8.8 points a contest and freshman guard Blake Francis adds 8.5 points. The Seahawks have been dominant on the glass, currently sitting 10th nationally with a 9.1 rebounding margin and ninth with 14.6 offensive rebounds per game. The team leads the NEC in scoring defense, scoring margin and field-goal percentage defense.  

CURRENT DAWGS vs. WAGNER
All nine returners from last year's team have faced the Seahawks in their careers. Senior forward Dan Garvin has matched up with Wagner five times and is averaging 9.6 points on a .511 clip from the floor, 6.4 boards and over two blocks per effort. Junior Hunter Ware netted 16.0 points per game in two meetings last season while going a combined 7-of-15 from long range. The Seahawks were one of the few teams in the NEC and country that were able to limit sophomores Marcel Pettway and Nisre Zouzoua last year, as they averaged just 4.5 points and 6.5 rebounds and 7.5 points per game, respectively.
  
BRYANT vs. THE NORTHEAST CONFERENCE
The Bulldogs hold an overall record of 49-78 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 40-34 record over the last four seasons. The Black and Gold are 23-15 at home versus the NEC and 20-21 on the road since 2012-13. All-time against current conference institutions, the Bulldog basketball program is 63-95.

LAST TIME OUT
The Bulldogs trailed by 22 at halftime and as many as 26 in the second frame at Fairleigh Dickinson on Saturday. But they meticulously cut into the deficit to get down by just one point with under a minute to play. Though Bryant had a pair of attempts to tie the game in the final seconds, the Knights were able to hold on for an 87-84 win. Sophomore Nisre Zouzoua scored a game-high 22 points, classmate Marcel Pettway netted 21, junior Bosko Kostur scored 17 and senior Dan Garvin tallied 11 points and eight rebounds. 

QUICK HITS

» Hot Half: The Bulldogs scored 50 points in the second half against FDU on Jan. 7. It was the first time they had netted 50 or more points in a half since Nov. 20, 2014, and just the second time in the last three seasons. 

» Crazy About 80: With the 87-84 loss to the Knights on Saturday, Bryant is now 1-2 this season when scoring 80 or more points. The Bulldogs have never lost more than one game in any season at the Division I level when scoring 80+ points and hold a 31-4 record at the DI ranks when doing so.   

» Caught Fire, Don't Play With Me Now: The Knights were scorching hot from beyond the arc on Saturday, as they netted 81.8 percent of their triples in the first half and 50.0 percent in the second for a .684 clip to finish the game (13-19). It marked the highest percentage an opponent had tallied against Bryant in the program's Division I history and just the third time a team had drained over 60.0 percent of its treys against the Black and Gold. 

JUST ZOO IT
Nisre Zouzoua is in the midst of superb sophomore campaign with an impressive 21.1 points per game over the first 15 contests to lead the league and sit 23rd nationally, while hitting a conference-best 2.81 triples per game. He has scored 21 points or more in 10 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 15 collegiate games. He has netted double-digit points in all but four games this season. Grant is second on the team with 14.3 points per game to sit seventh in the NEC, first among league rookies, and he has a .459 field-goal clip to sit fourth in the conference. 

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.

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 Sacred Heart inside the Chace Athletic Center on Saturday at 4:00 p.m.