SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Saint Rose senior forward Adonist Barber (Schenectedy, N.Y.) equaled a career-high with 30 points and added 10 rebounds to help the visiting Golden Knights to a 93-71 win over host Bryant University Sunday afternoon at the Chace Athletic Center in Smithfield. With the win, Saint Rose improves to 3-2 overall and 2-0 in the Northeast-10 Conference. Bryant, led by Cullen McCarthy’s (Mansfield, Mass.) 17 points, drops to 1-1 on the year and 1-1 in the NE-10.
Bryant got off to a strong start, leading 15-10 in the early minutes, but a 14-2 run by Saint Rose, keyed by a three-pointer from Brad Shove (Pittsfield, Mass.), staked the Golden Knights a 24-17 lead with just over 12 minutes remaining in the first half.
The Bulldogs would regain the lead briefly as Dan Hammond (Brunswick, Maine) scored on a basket in the lane to make it 29-28 with 6:18 left in the half. But Saint Rose, taking advantage of its quickness on the perimeter defensively, would go back on top 30-29 thanks to a transition basket from Terry George (Buffalo, N.Y.). On Bryant’s next possession, Mike Williams (Ellington, Conn.) missed a shot in the lane resulting in another basket by Shove at the other end and the Golden Knights never looked back. Saint Rose scored 30 points off 18 Bryant turnovers in the game.
Saint Rose, leading 44-38 at the half, went up 60-50 with 12:40 left and led 73-58 on a rebound and basket by Shanty Robinson (Mt. Vernon, N.Y.) with 7:49 left. Bryant would close to within 76-63 on a pair of free throws from Mario Correia (Brockton, Mass.), but a miss by Robinson inside was put back by Barber and the Golden Knights stretched the lead to 78-53 with 4:48 remaining, emptying both benches for the final minutes.
Saint Rose shot 57.4 percent from the floor in the game and out-rebounded the Bulldogs 41 to 30. Bryant, which shot 41.5 percent from the floor in the game, shot just 34.3 percent in the second half and attempted just 10 free throws, making seven.
John Williams (Springfield, Mass.) had 12 points while Mike Williams (10 points) was the only other player to reach double figures in the game for Bryant. The Bulldogs did make 10-of -27 from three-point range with McCarthy (17 points) making 5- of-10 three-point field goal attempts. Bryant will travel to Pace on Wednesday (Dec. 1) for a 5:30 p.m. game.