Strong second-half and solid defense propels Bulldogs over Seahawks, 77-66, Thursday night

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Four host players scored in double-figures and the Bryant University men's basketball team was able to hold a lead for the final 14:18 and pull away late for a 77-66 victory over the defending Northeast Conference regular-season champ Wagner College Thursday night.

Sophomore Nisre Zouzoua (Brockton, Mass.) netted a game-high 24 points and pulled down seven boards to fuel the Bulldogs (5-12, 2-3 NEC). Junior Bosko Kostur (Melbourne, Australia) scored 15 points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds, sophomore Marcel Pettway (North Providence, R.I.) tallied 14 points and freshman Adam Grant (Franklin, Va.) added 10 points.

Michael Carey recorded a double-double of 20 points and 12 boards through just 31 minutes before fouling out for the Seahawks (6-9, 2-3). Corey Henson dropped 15 point, Mike Aaman tallied eight points and six boards and AJ Sumbry added seven points and nine caroms.

There were a total of 54 fouls called and 63 free throws attempted. The Bulldogs went 27-for-32 from the stripe, while the Seahawks went just 15-for-31 from the line in the loss.

Though neither side was able to attain a lead of more than four for the first 30 minutes of action, the sequence five minutes into the second frame gave the hosts energy and turned things around.

After a pair of Wagner free throws put it on top, 41-40, at the 15:15 mark of the second half, Carey was in position to give Wagner a three-point edge on his team's next possession. He drove to the rim and went to finish with his right hand, but senior Dan Garvin (Bethel, Conn.) met Carey at the rim and denied the attempt. Garvin was fouled on the other end and hit a pair of free throws for what was the game's 11th and final lead change.

A JoJo Cooper layup made it 54-51 with 9:02 remaining, but Kostur answered with a pair of freebies and Pettway converted a three-point play inside to give the Bulldogs their largest lead to that point, 59-51 at the 6:58 mark.

Wagner cut the deficit to four twice over the next two minutes, but after a smooth turnaround 10-footer on the baseline from Zouzoua, Pettway jumped a lane on a pass inside which turned into a Grant trey on the other end, making it 67-58 with 4:51 to play.

The lead did not dip any lower than seven from there, as Bryant went 6-of-7 from the charity stripe and extended the advantage to as many as 14 down the stretch en route to its second conference win in front of the home crowd.   

The Bulldogs get right back at it on Saturday when they host Sacred Heart in game two of a women-men doubleheader, with tipoff set for 4:00 p.m.