Grant scores 28, but Bryant tripped up by FDU

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Senior Adam Grant (Franklin, Va.) scored a game-high 28 points to help lift the Bryant University men's basketball team out of a 13-point hole, but Fairleigh Dickinson stymied the Bulldog offense in the closing minutes of a 77-73 Knights victory Saturday afternoon at the Chace Athletic Center.

GAME INFORMATION
Fairleigh Dickinson 77, Bryant 73
Records: Bryant (9-6, 1-1 NEC), Fairleigh Dickinson (3-10, 1-1 NEC)
Location: Chace Athletic Center (Smithfield, R.I.) 

COACH GRASSO'S COMMENTS
"Credit to FDU - they are a championship team and their veterans made championship plays down the stretch. It's a long season - we'll get back in the gym tomorrow and get back to work."

KEY MOMENTS

• Fairleigh Dickinson used runs of 14-3 and 12-2 to build a 13-point advantage late in the first half.
• Bryant battled back and led by as many as seven with 11 minutes remaining.
• An 8-0 Knights run gave FDU a 68-66 advantage as the Knights held the Bulldogs to seven points in the final 9:48 of the game.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• A quick 11-5 start for Bryant capped off by an offensive rebound and layup from redshirt-junior Ikenna Ndugba (Boston, Mass.) prompted a Knights timeout 3:15 into the contest.
• FDU went on a 14-3 run to take a 23-17 advantage with 11:55 to go before halftime.
• The Knights pushed their lead to 42-29 before an 11-2 Bryant run to close the half got the Bulldogs back within four at 44-40.
• The Bulldogs opened the second half with a 10-4 stretch to tie the game on the first collegiate points for freshman Nathaniel Stokes (Tacoma, Wash.), knotting the game at 50 with 14:27 to play.
• Bryant would extend the lead to 62-55 on threes from freshman Benson Lin (New Taipei City, Taiwan) and Grant, leading to a Knights timeout with 11:10 remaining.
• FDU made a three-pointer to re-tie the game with 5:20 remaining, evening the score at 66 and took the lead on a jumper with 4:37 to play.
• With the game tied at 68, Fairleigh Dickinson scored the next points and held off Bryant in the final minute.

STATS

• Grant went 9-for-17 from the field and 7-of-14 from three. The senior is 18-for-39 (46.2%) from beyond the arc over his last three games.
• Freshman Charles Pride (Syracuse, N.Y.) scored 13 points for his sixth game this season in double figures.
• Ndugba and Lin scored nine points each. Ndugba added six rebounds, five assists and two steals.
• Sophomore Patrick Harding (Fairfield, Conn.) hauled in nine rebounds.
• The Bulldogs recorded a season-high 17 assists on their 25 made field goals.
• Bryant was 14-for-45 from beyond the arc. The 14 made threes ranked tied for third in a game in Bryant's Division I era, while the 45 attempts were an all-time program record, surpassing the 42 in an overtime contest against Monmouth in 2011.
• The Bulldogs were held to a season-low 36.2% shooting.

GAME NOTES

• Grant had his 10th game this season of 20 or more points and 33^rd of his career. The senior scored in double figures for the 79^th time in his collegiate career.
• Grant moved within 79 points of Dyami Starks for second on Bryant's Division I scoring list and surpassed 1,600 career points.
• Harding moved past 300 career rebounds and within 13 of the top 10 in Division I program history.
• Senior Juan Cardenas (Apartado, Colombia) recorded a block to become the fifth player in Bryant's Division I history with 50 in his career.
• The Bulldogs drop to 5-2 this year at home and 13-8 (.619) under Coach Grasso.
• Bryant drops to 8-12 all-time vs. Fairleigh Dickinson.

UP NEXT
Bryant closes out a three-game homestand when the Bulldogs host Mount St. Mary's next Saturday at 1 p.m. Tickets are available by clicking HERE and the game can be seen on NEC Front Row with Jon Wallach and Frankie Dobbs on the call.

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