Stellar first half carries Bulldogs to 80-69 win over Terriers Saturday afternoon

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University men's basketball team shot 70 percent from the floor in the first frame and held as much as a 22-point lead, as all five of its starters scored in double-figures in a much needed 80-69 Northeast Conference win over St. Francis Brooklyn.

Sophomore Nisre Zouzoua (Brockton, Mass.) led all scorers with 18 points behind four triples, classmate Marcel Pettway (North Providence, R.I.) netted 14 points and pulled down a game0high nine boards, and junior Bosko Kostur (Melbourne, Australia) tallied 13 points. Freshman Ikenna Ndugba (East Boston, Mass.) had a second-straight all-around outing for the Bulldogs (9-18, 6-8 NEC) with 12 points on a perfect 4-for-4 from the floor, six boards, three assists and a career-high four steals. Fellow rookie Adam Grant (Franklin, Va.) scored 11 point in the win.

The Terriers (4-23, 2-12) also saw five players score double-figures, led by Glenn Sanabria with 15. Rasheem Dunn scored 14, Yunus Hopkinson netted 12, Gianni Ford added 11 points off the bench and Robert Montgomery scored 10 and pulled down nine caroms.   

The first seven minutes of the contest were back-and-forth with no side leading by more than three, as the Terriers held a 14-12 edge at the 13:00 mark. That quickly changed when Zouzoua hit a pair of triples to open up what ultimately became a 25-5 run over the next 8:08, giving the Bulldogs a commanding 37-19 lead.

Bryant forced five turnovers during the stretch and did not allow a St. Francis Brooklyn field goal (0-8), as seven host players contributed points during the run. The lead got up to as many as 22 following another Zouzoua three and Ndugba's first of the game, making it 46-24 with 1:18 remaining in the first before Bryant took a 17-point lead into halftime.

The advantage got no lower than 12 over the first 13:31 of the second frame, until a Sanabria triple cut the margin to 10. The deep ball was part of a 9-1 Terrier run to make it 62-54 with 5:28 to play.

Hopkinson drained a three on the next St. Francis possession, trimming the deficit to only seven with 5:00 to play. But the Terriers would get no closer, as Kostur netted two from the line then a Bryant steal led to a Dan Garvin (Bethel, Conn.) 3-point play in transition on the other end to extend the advantage to double-digits for good with 4:12 on the clock.

With just four games to play, the Bulldogs will remain home to take on Robert Morris Thursday at 7:00 p.m.