Townes, Cardenas team up to guide Bryant to win over CCSU

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Junior SaBastian Townes (Chesapeake, Va.) hit a go-ahead three-pointer with 7.4 seconds remaining and junior Juan Cardenas (Medellin, Colombia) came up with the block at the other end as the Bryant University men's basketball team knocked off Central Connecticut Thursday night at a raucous Chace Athletic Center.

Townes scored a game-high 18 points for Bryant, which is off to its best start through seven conference games since 2015-16. Cardenas matched his career-bests with eight rebounds and four blocks.

GAME INFORMATION
Bryant 63, Central Connecticut 60
Records: Bryant (7-11, 4-3 NEC), Central Connecticut (8-12, 2-5 NEC)
Location: Chace Athletic Center (Smithfield, R.I.)

KEY MOMENTS

• A 13-0 Bryant run turned a seven-point deficit into a 60-54 advantage with 3:27 remaining.
• Townes' three-pointer with 7.4 seconds remaining gave Bryant a 63-60 lead and Cardenas came up with the block at the other end for the win.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Back-to-back baskets by freshman Joe Kasperzyk (New Haven, Conn.) put Bryant ahead 13-10 with 10:31 remaining in the first half, and a three from senior Taylor McHugh (Centreville, Va.) pushed the advantage to four at 16-12.
• The Blue Devils scored the final six points of the first half of take a 30-27 lead into the break.
• Bryant opened the second half with an alley-oop from McHugh to Cardenas to cut the CCSU lead to 30-29.
• A four-point play by Townes gave the Bulldogs the lead at 33-31 with 19:11 remaining.
• A three-pointer put CCSU ahead 42-41 and the Blue Devil lead would range from one to four until a three-point play made it a seven-point game at 54-47 with 6:42 to go.
• Hawkins would score the next six points to cut the deficit to one at 54-53 with 5:12 remaining.
• A Cardenas, block and fastbreak layup followed to give Bryant the 55-54 advantage with 4:49 to play.
• Bryant would extend the run to 13-0 and lead 60-54 with 3:27 to go on a pair of Cardenas free throws.
• The Blue Devils scored the next six points to tie the game at 60, prompting a Bryant timeout with 1:24 on the clock.
• After stops on both ends, Townes knocked down the game-winning three-pointer with 7.4 seconds to go and Cardenas made the block at the other end to seal the victory.

STATS

• Townes was 7-of-12 from the field and 3-of-4 from three to go along with seven rebounds.
• Redshirt-senior Byron Hawkins (Fort Washington, Md.) scored 16 points for the second straight game on 6-of-14 shooting.
• Junior Adam Grant (Franklin, Va.) added 11 points and Kasperzyk chipped in nine for the Bulldogs.
• Freshman Patrick Harding (Fairfield, Conn.) grabbed eight rebounds.
• Bryant shot 41.5 percent from the field, while CCSU was at 40.3 percent.
• The Blue Devils outrebounded the Bulldogs, 38-32.

GAME NOTES

• Bryant improves to 7-0 this year when holding its opponents under 70 points.
• The Bulldogs won for the fifth time this season when trailing at halftime.
• Bryant improves to 11-9 against Central Connecticut in the Division I era and 17-16 all-time.  

UP NEXT
Bryant closes out a four-game homestand Saturday at 4 p.m. when the Bulldogs host Fairleigh Dickinson.

Tickets for home games at the Chace Athletic Center are available by clicking HERE or calling (401) 319-TIXX.

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