Bulldogs visit Blue Devils for a 7:00 p.m. start Wednesday on MSG+/FCS/YurViewNE

GAME NOTES

SMITHFIELD, R.I. -- The Bryant University men's basketball team plays the first of three-straight nationally televised NEC games when it battles CCSU in New Britain Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. on MSG+/Fox College Sports (Paul Dottino, Terry O'Connor and John Schmeelk). The game can also be heard on WOON 1240 AM (Jon Wallach and Tristan Hobbes). 

THE SERIES
Wednesday's contest marks the 29th meeting in the all-time series between the Bulldogs and the Blue Devils, as the series is tied at 14 wins apiece. Bryant holds an edge at the Division I level (8-7), and had won seven-consecutive meetings prior to CCSU's 78-67 win in Smithfield last season.   

SCOUTING THE BLUE DEVILS
Coming off its first league victory, CCSU aims to make it two-straight wins led by sophomore sharp shooter Austin Nehls at 14.2 points per game. He is shooting roughly 42 percent from the floor and 42 percent from long range to lead the NEC, as he hits 2.68 triples per contest. Senior guard Khalen Cumberlander averages 12.9 points per game on a team-high .481 clip from the field, fourth-best in the conference. Junior forward Mustafa Jones nets 11.0 points per contest on a .480 clip from the field and grabs 4.5 boards per game. Senior bigman Tidell Pierre averages 9.6 points per effort and grabs a team-best 6.9 rebounds per game.  

CURRENT DAWGS vs. CENTRAL CONNECTICUT
Nine current Bulldogs have matched up with the Blue Devils in their careers and four have put up very good numbers. Senior Dan Garvin has seen CCSU six times and is averaging 12.3 points per game on a .647 clip from the floor, 8.8 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game. Junior Hunter Ware has averaged 16.0 points per effort in four matchups with the Blue Devils, shooting 58 percent from the field ancd 43 percent from long range. Sophomores Marcel Pettway and Nisre Zouzoua had immense success against CCSU in their first two meetings last season. Pettway averaged 19.5 points and snared 7.5 boards while connecting on 65.4 percent of his shots and Zouzoua averaged 15.0 points in the two contests. 

BRYANT vs. THE NORTHEAST CONFERENCE  
The Bulldogs hold an overall record of 51-80 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 42-36 record over the last four seasons. The Black and Gold are 24-16 at home versus the NEC and 21-22 on the road since the start of 2012-13. All-time against current conference institutions, the Bulldog basketball program is 65-97.

LAST TIME OUT
The Bulldogs struggled offensively for much of the afternoon on Saturday at Robert Morris. Despite finishing the game with one made triple and a season-low 30 percent field goal percentage, Bryant turned on the offense and efforts defensively when faced with a 12-point deficit midway through the second half. The Bulldogs went on a 19-5 run over a stretch of nearly nine minutes to take a lead with under 3:00 to play. Bryant was able to ward off a couple of Colonial chances down the stretch and held on to win, 59-56. Sophomore Marcel Pettway tallied contest-highs 18 points and 11 rebounds, freshman Sabastian Townes netted 11 points off the bench and sophomore Nisre Zouzoua scored 11 points in the win.  

QUICK HITS 
» Bryant Five - Zero: The 59-56 win over Robert Morris on Saturday was just the eighth victory for the Bulldogs when scoring in the 50's (8-47) at the Division I level. Bryant won more than one game when scoring 50-59 points in just one season at the DI ranks, coming in the program's inaugural season as a DI school in 2008-09.  

» 30 Percent of the Time, It Works Every Time: The Bulldogs connected on just 30.4 percent of their shots in the win against Robert Morris on Saturday, marking the first time they have won a game shooting in the 30.0-39.0 percent range since 2014-15. Bryant is 9-75 in such games at the DI level.    

» Misleading Numbers: The Bulldogs beat the Colonials on Saturday despite just one made three and nine assists. The lone triple tied for the fewest in the program's Division I history and it marked the first victory when connecting on just one trey at the DI ranks (1-7). The win was also just the sixth at the DI level when Bryant has dished out fewer than 10 helpers. 

» Saturday's Aren't For The Dogs: The Bulldogs won their first Saturday contest on Jan. 21 against Robert Morris and are now 1-6 this season. It is the longest stretch since the 2009-10 campaign that Bryant has gone to start a year without obtaining a victory on Saturday.    

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 13.9 points per game to sit eigth in the NEC, first among league rookies. The 32 points he scored against the Pioneers on Jan. 14 were the second-most by a Bryant rookie at the DI level. Alex Francis ('14) scored 43 points on Feb. 24, 2011.   

JUST ZOO IT
Sophomore Nisre Zouzoua is in the midst of a superb sophomore campaign with an impressive 19.9 points per game to lead the league and sit 39th nationally, while hitting 2.50 triples per game. He has scored 21 points or more in 11 outings, including a career-high 31 points at Brown on Nov. 28, his second 30-point game of the year.  

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 four games with 12.5 points per game on an impressive 66.6 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 Jan. 19 before tallying 11 against Robert Morris on Saturday. Townes is averaging just over 1.5 points per minute during the four-game stretch.  

RESILIENT IS BRILLIANT
The Bulldogs have overcome four 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. Along with vanquishing a seven-point halftime deficit against Robert Morris on Jan. 21, Bryant erased an eight-point deficit on Nov. 30 against Yale, a four-point deficit against Mount St. Mary's on Jan. 5 and a two-point deficit against Wagner on Jan. 12. The Bulldogs have won 25 games at the DI level when they have trailed at the intermission.   

BK ALL DAY
Junior forward Bosko Kostur has provided the Bulldogs with an additional threat of late 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 seven-straight games, has started each of those contests and scored in double figures in five of the last seven. He averaged 17.6 points in five games from Jan. 5 - Jan. 16, scoring no fewer than 15 points.  

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. 

DEFEND THE BALL
Bryant is 4-0 this season when holding an opponent to fewer than 70 points. This success has become a trend over the past few years, as the Bulldogs are 42-14 since the start of the 2013-14 season when surrendering less than 70 points.  

ON TAP
The Bulldogs return to the Chace Athletic Center for a nationally televised showdown with Fairleigh Dickinson Saturday at 12:00 p.m. on MSG+/Fox College Sports and Cox.