Bulldogs drop 83-54 decision at Rutgers

PISCATAWAY, N.J. – Sophomore Ikenna Ndugba (Boston, Mass.) recorded 15 points for the second-straight game to lead the offensive effort, but the Bryant University men's basketball team fell 83-54 to Rutgers Tuesday night at the Rutgers Athletic Center.

Senior Aram Martin (San Antonio, Texas) and freshman Brandon Carroll (Brewster, N.Y.) gave the Bulldogs a spark on the boards, as the two combined for 14 rebounds – eight from Carroll and six from Martin – as both logged career-highs in minutes.

GAME INFORMATION
Rutgers 83, Bryant 54
Records: Bryant (0-4), Rutgers (5-0)
Location: Rutgers Athletic Center (Piscataway, N.J.)
Attendance: 3,044

COACH O'SHEA'S COMMENTS
"I thought we turned the ball over too much. We had a couple good sequences, but we have work to do. Aram Martin, who just joined us recently, gave us a good look. Brandon Carroll, who hasn't played a lot, athletically did some things well. Ike (Ndugba) played well, but they did great job defensively on Adam Grant."

KEY MOMENTS

• Rutgers opened the game on an 11-2 run, but Bryant responded to take a 15-14 lead with 12:38 to go in the half.
• The Scarlet Knights rattled off a 13-0 run to push the lead to double digits at 31-17. Bryant would bring the deficit to within eight at 42-34 before Rutgers scored the final five points of the half.
• In a back-and-forth second half, Bryant cut it to 65-53 on a jumper by senior Hunter Ware (Powder Springs, Ga.) with 7:35 to go, but Rutgers answered to pull away down the stretch.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Rutgers jumped out to an 11-2 advantage before a 13-3 Bryant run gave the Bulldogs their first lead of the contest at 15-14 on a three-pointer by senior Bosko Kostur (Melbourne, Australia) with 12:38 to go in the half.
• With Bryant trailing 18-17, Rutgers ran off a 13-0 run over 2:16 to take a double-digit advantage.
• Bryant trailed 47-34 at the half. Ndugba led the Bulldogs with nine first-half points.
• The teams were even throughout the first 12 minutes of the second half, with the Bulldogs cutting it to 12 on Ware's jumper with 7:35 to play.
• Rutgers was able to extend its lead to the final 83-54 margin by holding Bryant without a field goal in the final 7:35.

STATS

• Ndugba tallied 15 points for the second-straight game.
• Martin posted a pair of career-highs with six points and six rebounds.
• Carroll added career-highs in points (4) and rebounds (8).
• Sophomore Adam Grant (Franklin, Va.) recorded nine points.
• Freshman Ryan Layman (Wrentham, Mass.) tallied eight points and six rebounds.

GAME NOTES

• Bryant falls to 0-2 all-time against Rutgers.
• Sophomore Tanner Johnson (Lexington, Ky.) made his season debut.
• Martin (22) and Carroll (17) played career-highs in minutes.
• The 12 players to see action Tuesday was the highest total of the season.

UP NEXT
Bryant is back in action Friday at 3 p.m. when the Bulldogs travel to Hartford. Friday's matinee can be seen on ESPN3.

Season and single-game tickets for the 2017-18 campaign are currently available by clicking HERE.

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