Bulldogs fall at Cincinnati on Tuesday

CINCINNATI – The Bryant University men's basketball team fell to the University of Cincinnati, 85-53, on Tuesday night at Fifth Third Arena.

With the loss, the Bulldogs fall to 6-6 on the season. Bryant wraps up its five-game road trip on Saturday when it faces Towson at UBS Arena on Long Island.

On Tuesday, Connor Withers paced Bryant with 15 points and seven rebounds. Earl Timberlake added 12 points, five rebounds, four assists and three blocks and Tyler Brelsford finished with 10 points and four assists.

Game Information
Cincinnati 85, Bryant 53
Records: Bryant 6-6 | Cincinnati 7-2
Location: Fifth Third Arena (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Attendance: 8,000

Key Moments

• Cincinnati hit back-to-back threes to turn a two-point lead into an eight-point edge early in the second half.

How it Happened

• Bryant raced out to a 7-1 lead in the first five minutes. Withers finished a three-point play to start the scoring and Rivera added four points in the paint.
• The Black and Gold pushed the lead to 10-5 on a three from Gross-Bullock at the 14:27 mark.
• Cincy would answer with a 10-0 run to grab a 15-10 lead with 11:43 to play.
• Bryant, however, dug its heels in and battled the rest of the quarter. Gross-Bullock hit his second three of the game Timberlake finished a tough layup inside to pull Bryant within two, 17-19.
• Withers then worked his three-point magic, hitting consecutive triples to tie the game at 23-23 with 5:23 left in the half.
• Cincinnati would retake the lead as CJ Fredrick hit an off-balance three as the shot clock ran out on the next possession.
• Timberlake would add a pair of baskets to pull Bryant within three, 27-30, at the break.
• Bryant was able to hold Cincinnati to 9-of-35 from the field and 2-of-11 from three in the first half.
• Withers would score Bryant's first five points of the second half and Timberlake would finish inside to pull Bryant within two, 34-36.
• Cincinnati, however, would hit consecutive three-pointers to open an eight-point lead.
• Bryant would make it a four-point game again but a three from the top pushed the Bearcats lead to nine with 12:49 to play.
• Rafael Pinzon and Brelsford would hit threes to keep the deficit at six but the Bearcats would outscore Bryant 30-5 over the final eight minutes to pull away.

Stats

• Bryant finished the game 21-of-66 (31.3 percent) from the field, 7-of-27 (25.9 percent) from three and 4-of-9 (44.4 percent) from the line.
• UC held a 57-33 edge in rebounds, including a 15-5 advantage in offensive rebounding.
• Bryant forced the Bearcats into a season-high 15 turnovers.
• Withers finished with 15 points, seven rebounds, three blocks and two steals.
• Timberlake posted 12 points, five rebounds, four assists and three blocks.
• Brelsford finished with 10 points and four assists.
• Gross-Bullock finished with nine points.

Game Notes

• The Bulldogs fall to 0-3 against Cincinnati.
• Withers finished in double figures for the second-straight game and for the 34^th time in his career.
• Timberlake finished in double figures for the ninth time this year and the 36^th time in his career.
• Brelsford scored in double figures for the fourth time this season and the 14^th time in his career.

Up Next
Bryant heads back to Long Island on Saturday as it faces Towson in the Holiday Hoopfest at UBS Arena. Tip is set for 2:00 p.m.