Bryant hosts LIU Saturday at the Chace

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University men's basketball team returns home for a Saturday afternoon showdown with Long Island at the Chace Athletic Center.

Bryant, which has played four NEC games decided by a total of 14 points, takes on the preseason conference favorite in a key January clash in Smithfield, while looking to match last season's win total midway through the year.

The Particulars
Opponent: Long Island
Location: Chace Athletic Center (Smithfield, R.I.)
Date and Time: Saturday, Jan. 18 – 4 p.m.
Tickets: Saturday (Holiday Hoops)
Watch: NEC Front Row (Jon Wallach, Frankie Dobbs)
Live Stats: Sidearm Stats
Game Notes: Bryant
Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | #12Seven4 | #NECMBB

SCOUTING THE SHARKS
Long Island is 3-1 in the NEC and has won its last three with victories over Central Connecticut, Fairleigh Dickinson and St. Francis Brooklyn. The Sharks are 8-9 overall after playing a gauntlet of a non-league slate that included back-to-back games against the nation's only undefeated team (San Diego State) and the defending national runner-up (Texas Tech.) 

Raiquan Clark leads the NEC scoring and ranks 20th nationally at 20.3 points per game. The Sharks average the eighth most three-pointers per game in the nation this season (10.4).

THE SERIES
The Bulldogs and Sharks are meeting for the 21st time with LIU holding a 14-6 advantage in the series. The Sharks (formerly the Blackbirds) have won six straight in the series with the Bulldogs' last victory coming in February 2016. 

Five Bulldogs were in double figures in the January meeting in Smithfield, led by 16 points from SaBastian Townes (Chesapeake, Va.). Bryant also received a career-high four blocks from Juan Cardenas (Apartado, Colombia).

LAST TIME OUT: MERRIMACK 71, BRYANT 67
Merrimack's defense kept Bryant in check Wednesday in North Andover, as the Bulldogs were limited to a season-low 47 field-goal attempts and held to 37% shooting in the second half. Cardenas scored a career-high 26 points in the defeat, while freshman Benson Lin (New Taipei City, Taiwan) matched his career-best with 19. 

SMITHFIELD'S NUMBER ONE
After a start to the season slowed by injury, Cardenas posted a career night Wednesday at Merrimack. Cardenas, who came into the game having scored a total of 25 points in his first 13 contests of the season, erupted for a career-high 26 on 8-of-13 shooting and 4-of-5 from three. 

Cardenas also passed Vlad Kondratyev and tied Alex Francis for third on Bryant's D1 career blocks list with 52.

TURN UP THE VOLUME
Bryant and Long Island are the only NEC teams with three different players boasting a 25-point game this season. Cardenas scored 26 Wednesday to join senior Adam Grant (Franklin, Va.), who has reached the 25-point mark three times, and freshman Charles Pride (Syracuse, N.Y.), who scored 25 points Nov. 20 at Drexel. 

Long Island's Raiquan Clark leads all NEC players with five games of 25-plus points, while Jermaine Jackson scored 29 at Army West Point and Ty Flowers dropped 25 on Centenary University.

There have been 28 games of 25-plus points by NEC players this season and 10 have come from either Bulldogs or Sharks.

MR. NICE WATCH
Grant was named to the Lou Henson Award Midseason Watch List Jan. 9. Grant ranks second in the NEC and 56th nationally as of Thursday at 18.6 points per game, has made 60 three-pointers on the year (good for 10th nationally), and has collected 20 or more points 10 times this season including games against Big Ten members Rutgers and Maryland. The Lou Henson Award is given to the nation's top mid-major player. 

HALL IN, BALL OUT
Redshirt-junior Hall Elisias (Valley Stream, N.Y.) leads the NEC in blocks per game (3.0) and ranks 16th in rebounding (5.6). Elisias has recorded four of Bryant's top six single-game block totals in his first 16 games as a Bulldog with eight vs. Navy and six against Rutgers, Columbia and Dartmouth. 

Elisias has blocked 17.9% of opponents' two-point attempts while on the floor this season, which leads the nation.

The 48 total blocks for Elisias this year rank tied for second in a single season in Bryant's Division I era, sixth in D1 career history, and 12th nationally.

DON'T TAKE IT FOR GRANT-ED
Grant has started 104 games in his time in Black & Gold, which ranks second in the Bulldogs' Division I era. Grant is five starts away from passing Alex Francis for Bryant's most since the move to Division I. 

Grant enters Saturday 58 points back of Dyami Starks for second on Bryant's D1 scoring list.

ROOM FOR BOARDS
Sophomore Patrick Harding (Fairfield, Conn.) hauled in nine rebounds Jan. 4 vs. Fairleigh Dickinson to surpass the 300 mark for his career. Harding is the third-fastest to 300 career rebounds in Bryant's Division I era. 

Harding is averaging 9.1 rebounds per game in 2019-20 and ranks third in the NEC in rebounding average. He has collected 30.2% of potential defensive rebounds while on the floor this season, good for 10th nationally.

BENSON BUCKETS
Lin is averaging 12.4 points per game since the start of December while shooting 40% from distance during those nine games. The Bulldogs are 7-1 this season when Lin scores at least 10 points. 

40-MINUTE GAME
Six games this season (Brown, Rutgers, Cornell, New Hampshire, Columbia, Mount St. Mary's) have come down to a final possession of regulation in which a team tied or trailing had an opportunity to win the game. In all six contests, the game-winning shot did not fall. 

Nine of Bryant's first 17 games of the 2019-20 season have been decided by four points or less, including all four NEC contests and five of Bryant's last six games.

Bryant has won despite trailing at halftime eight times in Coach Grasso's first two seasons, including this season's victories over Columbia, Fordham and Saint Francis U.

UP NEXT: WAGNER
Bryant plays its first home night game since Dec. 6 when Wagner visits the Chace Athletic Center on Thursday, the first day of the spring semester. The Bulldogs and Seahawks will tip off at 7 p.m. 

Bryant Men's Basketball tickets are available by clicking HERE.

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