Grant and Ndugba combine for 51 points, but Bryant falls 85-80 at St. Francis Brooklyn

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS, N.Y. – Sophomores Adam Grant (Franklin, Va.) and Ikenna Ndugba (Boston, Mass.) combined for 51 points, but the Bryant University men's basketball team was outlasted by St. Francis Brooklyn, 85-80, Saturday evening at the Pope Physical Education Center.

GAME INFORMATION
St. Francis Brooklyn 85, Bryant 80
Records: Bryant (2-19, 1-7 NEC), St. Francis Brooklyn (8-12, 5-3 NEC)
Location: Pope Physical Education Center (Brooklyn Heights, N.Y.)

KEY MOMENTS

• Ndugba hit three-pointers on back-to-back possessions to bring the Bulldogs within 31-28 with 5:29 to go in the first half.
• St. Francis Brooklyn pushed its lead to 53-42 with 15:34 remaining before a 9-3 Bryant run brought the Bulldogs back within five at 56-51.
• The lead fluctuated between five and nine points until the Bulldogs cut it to three with 1:23 remaining on a basket by senior Hunter Ware (Powder Springs, Ga.).
• Grant hit a three-pointer with eight seconds remaining to cut it to 82-80, but after making one of two from the line, the Terriers stole a pass and made a layup for the final 85-80 margin.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Bryant led 7-3 before a 10-0 St. Francis run gave the Terriers a 13-7 advantage with 13:32 to go in the first half.
• The Bulldogs cut it to one on a three-point play from Grant to make it 38-37 with 2:17 to go, but the Terriers responded with six straight points before a pair of free throws from senior Hunter Ware (Powder Springs, Ga.) closed out the first half.
• St. Francis led by as many as seven in the first half as both teams shot over 55 percent from the field. Bryant was 5-of-11 from three in the first half, while St. Francis was 6-of-13.
• Ndugba had 17 first-half points on 7-of-9 shooting.
• St. Francis opened the second half on a 9-3 run to push its lead to double digits at 53-42.
• Bryant responded with its own 9-3 run to bring the deficit to within 56-51 with 11:50 to go.
• Trailing 73-64, Bryant cut into the deficit and brought it to three with 1:23 remaining on Ware's basket.
• Grant hit a three-pointer with eight seconds remaining to cut it to 82-80, but after making one of two from the line, the Terriers stole a pass and made a layup for the final 85-80 margin.

STATS

• Grant scored 26 points and added six rebounds.
• Ndugba added 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting and 4-of-7 from beyond the arc. The sophomore added five rebounds and three assists.
• Freshman Brandon Carroll (Brewster, N.Y.) chipped in eight points and a team-high eight rebounds.
• Bryant shot 51.6 percent from the floor, its second-best shooting performance of the year. St. Francis Brooklyn shot an even 50 percent.
• The Terriers held a 40-32 rebounding advantage.

GAME NOTES

• Bryant falls to 6-10 against St. Francis Brooklyn in the Division I era.
• Grant's 20-point outing was his sixth-straight game of 20 or more points, ninth on the year and 13^th of his career. Grant has scored 10 or more points 35 times in his career.
• Ndugba was in double figures for the 15^th time this year and 23^rd in his career, while he had his fourth game of 20 or more points this season.
• Ndugba moved into a tie for 10^th in Bryant's Division I history in steals with 73, matching Dan Garvin (2013-17).
• The Bryant sophomore class – Grant, Ndugba, Townes and Johnson – is responsible of 57.4 percent of the Bulldogs' scoring this season.

UP NEXT
Bryant opens a four-game homestand Thursday at 7 p.m. when the Bulldogs host Central Connecticut. The game can be seen on ESPN3 and heard on WOON 1240 AM.

Tickets for Thursday's game and the 2017-18 Bryant University men's basketball season are available by clicking HERE or calling (401) 319-TIXX. 

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