Bulldogs and Red Flash tip off in Loretto Thursday at 7:00 p.m.

GAME NOTES

SMITHFIELD, R.I. -- The Bryant University men's basketball team plays the first of three-straight Northeast Conference road games when it visits Saint Francis. U. Thursday at 7:00 p.m. on NECFrontRow.com.  

THE SERIES
Thursday marks the 14th meeting between the Bulldogs and Red Flash. Bryant holds a 7-6 lead in the series and a 3-2 edge in Loretto, but SFU has won three-straight matchups dating back to 2014-15.    

SCOUTING THE RED FLASH
The top offense in the Northeast Conference has had a very balanced season with four players averaging double-figures and six scoring at least seven points per game. The guard-heavy attack is led by sophomore guard Jamaal King at 13.1 points per game on a 43.6 field-goal percentage. Freshman guard Keith Braxton has been tremendous this year with 12.7 points per game on clips over .525 from the floor and three and a team-high 8.4 rebounds per contest to sit fifth in the league. Sophomore guard Isaiah Blackmon follows with 11.8 points per effort. Though the team isn't deep up front, sophomore Josh Nebo has done it all inside with 11.2 points per contest on a team-best .571 clip from the field, 7.5 rebounds per game and a league-leading 2.06 blocks per game. The Red Flash lead the NEC in field-goal accuracy (.458), three-point field-goal efficiency (.402) and three-point field goals per game (8.6).   

CURRENT DAWGS vs. SAINT FRANCIS U. 
Seven current Bulldogs have faced the Red Flash in their careers and all seven have done so at least twice. The only two current Bryant players averaging double-digit points against the Red Flash are sophomores Marcel Pettway and Nisre Zouzoua. Pettway tallied 12.5 points and 8.5 boards in two games last year while connecting on 52.2 percent of his shots. Zouzoua averaged 10.0 points in the two matchups. Senior Dan Garvin is averaging 7.7 points per contest in six career meetings with SFU and 7.2 rebounds. He tallied 8.5 points on a .583 clip from the floor and 8.0 caroms last season and 11.0 points and 9.5 boards in two meetings during the 2014-15 year.  

BRYANT vs. THE NORTHEAST CONFERENCE  
The Bulldogs hold an overall record of 49-79 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 41-35 record over the last four seasons. The Black and Gold are 24-16 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 64-96.

LAST TIME OUT
The Bulldogs found themselves down by a steep margin relatively early against a talented and long Harvard team. The Crimson built up a 14-point halftime lead that extended to 22 in the second frame. But Bryant began to limit Harvad's success and held it to just seven field goals in the stanza to get within one point with under 30 seconds to play thanks in large part to a 32-13 run. Bryant had a chance to tie with less than 10 seconds remaining, but a three was blocked and Harvard warded off the comback to win, 70-65. Freshman Sabastian Townes scored a career-high 17 points on 6-for-12 shooting. Classmate Ikenna Nudgba netted 14 points on a career-best three treys to go along with five helpers and junior Bosko Kostur tallied 16 points on a personal-best four threes.    

BLOCK PARTY
After missing six-consecutive games from Nov. 28 - Dec. 22, senior forward Dan Garvin returned against St. Francis Brooklyn on Dec. 29 and provided Bryant with leadership along with a presence at the rim. The Bulldogs tallied a total of five rejections in Garvin's absence, but averaged three denials per contest over the next six games. Garvin had 13 of the team's 18 blocks during the six-game stretch. As fate would have it, the Bulldogs went blockless against Harvard on Monday, marking just the fourth time that has happened in the last three seasons.  

ONE FOR THE AGES
The Bulldogs may have dropped Saturday's battle against Sacred Heart, 112-110, in triple overtime, but they will forever be apart of one of the greatest games in program and Northeast Conference history. It not only marked the first triple OT game that Bryant has played in at the Division I level, but it was the first in the league since Feb. 6, 2010. The 222 combined points are the most for an NEC contest since Feb. 22, 2003 and the second-most all time. It was also the first time since Feb. 21, 2005 that two NEC teams scored at least 100 points in the same game and just the second time that Bryant had been invlolved in a game where both teams tallied triple digit points.  

GOT THE SHOTS GOING IN ON A SATURDAY  
Freshman Adam Grant was unconscious from beyond the arc on Saturday, and his counterpart from Sacred Heart, Quincy McKnight, was lights out from the floor. Grant drilled a Bryant single-game record nine threes, including three straight in the final minute to send the game into overtime. The nine makes are the most for an NEC rookie in the league's history and tied for the sixth-most all-time. 

McKnight knocked down 16 shots and netted 44 points, the most for an NEC player since Sam Prescott of Mount St. Mary's did so against the Bulldogs on Feb. 14, 2013. His 44 points are tied for the eighth-most all-time in an NEC game. The last time two players scored at least 30 points in the same NEC game was Feb. 5, 2015.

FOR THE FIRST TIME
The Bulldogs' 110 points against Sacred Heart are the most in the program's Division I history. It was just the third time Bryant scored at least 100 points in a game at the DI ranks and it was the most points for the program since 2005-06. Bryant also connected on 40 field goals, the first time it has done so at the DI level, and the 85 attempts from the floor were the most as a DI program. 

GRANTED PERMISSION
The 32-point explosion was no aberration for freshman guard Adam Grant, who has played like a seasoned vet through his first 18 collegiate games. He has netted double-digit points in all but five games this season. Grant is second on the team with 14.6 points per game to sit sixth in the NEC, first among league rookies. The 32 points were the second-most by a Bryant rookie at the DI level. 

CRAZY ABOUT 80
With the 112-110 3OT loss to the Pioneers on Saturday, Bryant is now 1-3 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 31-5 record at the DI ranks when doing so. 

MR. STEAL YOUR BALL
The Bulldogs also set a new Division I record with 15 steals in the game against the Pioneers, nine off the program record. The team is averaging 6.6 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.   

JUST ZOO IT
Sophomore Nisre Zouzoua is in the midst of superb sophomore campaign with an impressive 20.6 points per game to lead the league and sit 30th nationally, while hitting 2.67 triples per game. He has scored 21 points or more in 11 outings, including a career high of 31 points at Brown on Nov. 28, his second 30-point game of the year.  

BK ALL DAY
Junior forward Bosko Kostur has provided the Bulldogs with an additional threat over the last few games and reemerged as a consistent contributor. After scoring no more than four points and playing no more than eight minutes over the first six games of the year, he has played 20+ minutes in nine of the last 13 games, has started five-straight contests and scored in double-figures nine times. He is averaging 17.6 points on a .594 clip from the floor over the last five games. 

RESILIENT IS BRILLIANT
In addition to the Jan. 12 win over  Wagner, the Bulldogs have overcome three halftime deficits this season and come back to win. Bryant nearly erased a 22-point halftime deficit on Jan. 7 against FDU (87-84 loss) which would have been the largest halftime deficit overcome in program history. The Bulldogs then dwindled what was a 22-point second-half Harvard lead on Monday to just one point before ultimately falling. The Bulldogs have won 24 games at the DI level when they have trailed at the intermission.   

DEFEND THE BALL
Bryant is 3-0 this season when holding an opponent to under 70 points. It has proven that it finds success when surrendering fewer than 70 points over the past few years, as it is 41-14 since the start of the 2013-14 season. 

TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT
The 72-71 win against Mount St. Mary's on Jan. 5 marked the Bulldogs' first victory in a game decided by five points or fewer  this season (1-6), having lost by one, two, three, four and five 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. 

ON TAP
The Bulldogs conclude their trip to western Pennsylvania with Robert Morris Saturday at 4:00 p.m.