Townes' three seals Bryant's 68-67 win over Dartmouth

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Junior SaBastian Townes (Chesapeake, Va.) drained a three-pointer with 18 seconds remaining to complete a thrilling comeback victory Friday at the Chace Athletic Center, as the Bryant University men's basketball team rallied from a 15-point deficit for a 68-67 win.

Junior Adam Grant (Franklin, Va.) recorded his 1,000^th career point in the victory, becoming the sixth Bulldog at the Division I level to reach the mark. Townes poured in all 23 of his points in the second half. Freshman Joe Kasperzyk (New Haven, Conn.) chipped in a career-high 19 points in the win.

GAME INFORMATION
Bryant 68, Dartmouth 67
Records: Bryant (3-7), Dartmouth (8-6)
Location: Chace Athletic Center (Smithfield, R.I.)

KEY MOMENTS

• Bryant scored the first 12 points of the second half to turn an eight-point halftime deficit into a four-point advantage.
• Dartmouth went on a 9-0 run to take a 62-57 lead with 3:45 remaining.
• A block by junior Juan Cardenas (Medellin, Colombia) led to a transition opportunity the other way, with Kasperzyk finding Townes for the game-winning three-pointer with 18 seconds to play.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Dartmouth held Bryant to nine points in the first 11:59 of the contest to hold a 24-9 advantage.
• Bryant closed the first half on an 11-4 run and went into the locker room trailing 34-26.
• Townes tallied the first six points of the second half to force a Dartmouth timeout with 17:20 remaining.
• Bryant would continue the run out of the stoppage, scoring the first 12 points of the half to take a 38-34 lead with 16:29 remaining.
• A 9-0 Dartmouth run put the Big Green back ahead by five, 62-57, at the final media timeout with 3:45 to go.
• Dartmouth led by seven with 3:26 to play before Bryant chipped away from the free-throw line, getting two points each from senior Taylor McHugh (Centreville, Va.) and Townes to pull within 67-65 with 1:06 to play.
• A Big Green shot attempt with the shot clock winding down was blocked by Cardenas and corralled by Kasperzyk, who would go on to find Townes for the go-ahead three with 18 seconds remaining.
• Cardenas came up with another block on the ensuing Dartmouth possession, and after the Big Green grabbed a defensive rebound off a missed free throw, a last-second desperation heave was off the mark.

STATS

• Townes scored 23 points – all in the second half – on 9-of-15 shooting. The junior was limited to just 4:30 on the court in the first half due to foul trouble.
• Kasperzyk added a career-high 19 points with seven from the free-throw line and added four assists.
• Grant scored 11 points to give him 1,007 for his career. Six of Grant's points came on the 12-0 run to open the second half.
• Cardenas recorded a career-high eight points and matched his career-best with three blocks. Two of Cardenas' blocks came in the final minute.
• Bryant shot a season-best 48.0 percent from the floor, while Dartmouth was at 40.0 percent. The Bulldogs shot 61.5 percent in the second half.

GAME NOTES

• Grant joins Alex Francis, Dyami Starks, Frankie Dobbs, Corey Maynard and Nisre Zouzoua as 1,000-point scorers in Bryant's Division I era, which began in 2008-09.
• Grant's three assists moved him into a tie with Alex Francis for fifth in Bryant's Division I era in assists with 172.
• Townes is 8-for-18 from beyond the arc this season.
• Kasperzyk's career-high 19 points bested an 18-point effort Nov. 18 at Navy.
• Cardenas has recorded 15 blocks through his first 10 games in Black & Gold.
• Bryant improves to 4-4 all-time against Dartmouth.

UP NEXT
Bryant closes non-conference play Saturday, Dec. 29 with a game at No. 23 Iowa. The 8 p.m. ET tip can be seen on ESPNU.

Season and single-game tickets for home games at the Chace Athletic Center are available by clicking HERE or calling (401) 319-TIXX.

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