Bulldogs drop opener to Stony Brook Thursday

STONY BROOK, N.Y. – The Bryant University football team forced a pair of turnovers but it wasn't enough in a 35-10 loss to Stony Brook on Thursday night in the 2019 season opener.  

Junior Andre Brackett (East Windsor, Conn.) posted an interception and senior Robert Brown (Palmetto Bay, Fla.) forced and recovered a fumble. Brown finished with a team-high nine tackles, while redshirt junior Fernando Casanova (Jacksonville, Fla.) added a career-high eight stops.

Redshirt sophomore Chris Hindle (Cranston, R.I.) completed 14-of-25 passes for 98 yards in his second career start. Sophomore Daniel Adeboboye (Toronto, Ont.) rushed for 53 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries, while senior Vincent Nisivoccia (Nutley, N.J.) had 171 all-purpose yards.

GAME INFORMATION
Stony Brook 35, Bryant 10
Records: Bryant (0-1), Stony Brook (1-0)
Attendance: 9,652

Coach Merritt's Comments

"I thought that the effort was there but the depth wasn't. Our guys competed and they didn't give up. There were a lot of good things that we put on film tonight. We're going to learn from the breakdowns we had. That's a playoff-caliber football team we played tonight it was a good learning experience for our guys."

Key Moment

• Stony Brook led 14-3 at the half before scoring on three of its first four possessions of the second half.

How It Happened

• Stony Brook got on the scoreboard first when Synceir Malone intercepted a pass and returned it 22 yards for a TD with 6:58 left in the first.
• The Bulldog defense kept it a seven-point deficit as Brown forced a fumble at the 1-yard line that was recovered by the Black and Gold.
• Bryant would then drive 66 yards and get on the board with a 49-yard field goal from Samperi. The drive was aided by a roughing the passer call and a 28-yard reception by senior Alex Rasmussen (Fallston, Md.) on third down.
• The Seawolves answered with an 11-play, 73-yard drive to make it 14-3 with 5:13 left in the second. Tyquell Fields put the ball on the 1 with a 13-yard carry and Isaiah White punched it in.
• Stony Brook posted three rushing touchdowns to open a 35-3 lead in the second half.
• Bryant closed the scoring with a nine-play, 72-yard drive midway through the fourth quarter. Junior Kory Curtis (Cape Coral, Fla.) connected with Rasmussen for 27 yards to put the ball in SBU territory. Freshman Anthony Frederick (Hollywood, Fla.) then made a tumbling catch at the SBU 4, setting up an Adeboboye touchdown two plays later.  

Stats

• Bryant was held to 203 yards of total offense. The Bulldogs, however, posted 11 first downs.
• The Bulldogs finished 6-of-16 on third downs.
• Hindle was 14-of-25 for 98 yards.
• Curtis was 3-of-4 for 69 yards.
• Adeboboye rushed for 53 yards and a touchdown on a career-high 21 carries.
• Nisivoccia caught eight passes for 52 yards and returned six kicks for 117 yards.
• Rasmussen caught two passes for 55 yards.
• Frederick caught three passes for 51 yards.
• Brown posted a team-high nine tackles, forced a fumble and recovered a fumble.
• Casanova and senior Jesse Nemerowicz (Hudson, Mass.) each added eight tackles.
• Brackett intercepted a pass and broke up two others.

Notes and Notables

• Hindle was making his second career start.
• Frederick and Hunter Hill (Memphis, Tenn.) both made their first-career receptions in the game.
• The forced fumble is the third in Brown's career. He's also posted three fumble recoveries in his career.
• Nemerowicz's eight tackles give him 233 in his career, moving him past Franck Tebou, Greg Wolyniec and Andrew McLarty and into fifth place in program history.
• Nisivoccia's eight catches give him 87 for his career.
• Rowley set a career-high with 385 yards punting. He now has 4,333 career punting yards, moving him into fourth place in program history.

Up Next

The Bulldogs travel to Albany next weekend to take on the Great Danes. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.