Bulldogs and Colonials do battle Saturday at 4:00 p.m.

GAME NOTES

SMITHFIELD, R.I. -- The Bryant University men's basketball team takes on Robert Morris Saturday at 4:00 p.m. on NECFrontRow.com.  

THE SERIES
Saturday will be the 15th meeting between the Bulldogs and Colonials. Robert Morris holds a decisive 12-2 edge in the series, but Bryant's only two victories have been in Moon Township.     

SCOUTING THE COLONIALS
The Colonials have struggled offensively this season, scoring the fewest points per game in the league. The offense is led by sophomore Isaiah Still at 14.6 points per contest and senior guard Kavon Stewart at 11.3 points per game. The duo are the only two Colonials scoring more than 6.8 points per effort, as freshman Dachon Burke nets the 6.8 average. Robert Morris is second-to-last in the conference in field-goal percentage and three-point field-goal percentage. But what the team lacks offensively it makes up for defensively, limiting opponents to 68.3 points per game, second best in the NEC. The Colonials tally a league-best 7.7 steals per game thanks to Stewart's conference-high 1.84 thefts per contest. Robert Morris is also one of the best in the nation at defending against the three, as it sits fourth in the country allowing just 28.4 percent of threes to fall in. 

CURRENT DAWGS vs. ROBERT MORRIS
Nine current Bulldogs have matched up with the Colonials in their careers. Sophomore Marcel Pettway led all Bryant players in the two meetings last season with 16.0 points per game on a .577 clip from the floor to go along with 7.5 boards. Classmate Nisre Zouzoua netted 12.5 points per game and junior Hunter Ware averaged 10.5 while going 6-for-12 from long range. Senior Dan Garvin has battled the Colonials six times in his career including three times in 2014-15 when he averaged 12.7 points per contest and hit over 70 percent of his shots. Junior Bosko Kostur also faced Robert Morris three time in that season and averaged 11.7 points on clips above .520 from the floor and .630 from long range. 

BRYANT vs. THE NORTHEAST CONFERENCE  
The Bulldogs hold an overall record of 49-80 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 41-36 record over the last four seasons. The Black and Gold are 24-16 at home versus the NEC and 20-22 on the road since 2012-13. All-time against current conference institutions, the Bulldog basketball program is 64-97.

LAST TIME OUT
The Bulldogs found themselves behind,, 13-0, to start the Thursday's matchup against Saint Francis U. but battled back to tie the game at 19-19. The Red Flash were able to seperate again prior to halftime and attained a 12-point lead at the break. The lead got up to as many as 16 before Bryant trimmed into the deficit and cut the margin to just one point with under eight minutes to play. But SFU limited the Bulldogs to just one field goal over the final 5:30 and closed the contest on an 18-5 run to win 75-61. Sophomore Nisre Zouzoua scored 16 points, freshman Sabastian Townes netted 14 and sophomore Marcel Pettway scored 11 points.  

JUST ZOO IT
Sophomore Nisre Zouzoua is in the midst of superb sophomore campaign with an impressive 20.3 points per game to lead the league and sit 32nd nationally, while hitting 2.58 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.  

GRANTED PERMISSION
Freshman Adam Grant, who has played like a seasoned vet in his first collegiate campaign. He has netted double-digit points 14 times this season. Grant is second on the team with 14.3 points per game to sit seventh in the NEC, first among league rookies. The 32 points he scored against the Pioneers were the second-most by a Bryant rookie at the DI level. 

HULK BASH
Sabastian Townes was stellar off the bench in his collegiate debut on Nov. 12 against the Fighting Irish. The rookie had 16 points on 5-of-9 shooting and a 6-for-11 effort at the line. He scored 10 points in the second half and tied sophomore Nisre Zouzoua and Alex Francis ('14) for the most points scored by a Bryant freshman in his debut in the program's Division I history. Townes has elevated his play offensively over the last three games with 14.0 points per game on an impressive 69 percent from the field. He netted 11 points in just 12 minutes off the bench against Sacred Heart on Jan. 14, a career-high 17 against Harvard on Jan. 16 and 14 off the bench against Saint Francis U. on Thursday. Townes is averaging just under 1.5 points per minute during the three-game stretch. 

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 6.7 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.   

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 six-straight games, has started six-straight contests and scored in double-figures in five of the last six. He is averaging 15.1 points 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 by five. The Bulldogs have won 24 games at the DI level when they have trailed at the intermission.   

ON TAP
The Bulldogs exit western Pennsylvania but remain on the road when they take on Central Connecticut Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. on MSG+ and Fox College Sports.