SEAHAWKS STOP STREAKING BULLDOGS; KNOCK-OFF BRYANT, 72-60, THURSDAY NIGHT
February 12, 2009
SEAHAWKS STOP STREAKING BULLDOGS; KNOCK-OFF BRYANT, 72-60, THURSDAY NIGHT
SMITHFIELD, R.I. - The Wagner Seahawks hit a season-best 12 three's as they stopped the Bulldogs' three-game win streak, beating Bryant, 72-60, at the Chace Center Thursday night.
The 12 three's tied the most made against the Bulldogs (7-18) this season, as Iowa also hit 12 back on Dec. 5., while the 32 attempts for the game were the most by any team against Bryant this season, as they accounted for more than half of the team's 61 field goal tries. Joey Mundweiler, the program's all-time leading three-point percentage leader, went 6-for-18 from behind the arc and scored a game-high 20 points.
Cecil Gresham (Bloomfield, Conn. / MCI) had a team-high 19 points for the Bulldogs while hitting three three's to move into fifth all-time in career three point field goals made with 121, passing Jon Wallace. It was Gresham's 17th double figure scoring game this season.
Bryant shot 42.9 percent from the floor in the first half and outscored the Wagner bench, 22-13, to take a, 33-31, lead at the half. Adam Parzych (Lindenhurst, N.Y. / Lindenhurst) led all scorers with 17 points in 18 minutes off the bench, going 4-of-5 from three point land.
The Seahawks (12-12) scored the first 10 points of the game on the back of two three's from Mundweiler to grab a 10-0 lead with 17:19 left in the half, as they were helped by three Bryant turnovers. Mundweiler had 12 points on 4-of-12 shooting from downtown in the first half.
Parzych got the Bulldogs on the board with a deep three from the right wing at the 16:50 mark. The sophomore went on a tear, carrying the Bryant offense by scoring the first 14 Bulldog points, hitting his first five shots to get the squad within two at 16-14 with 11:49 to go.
Bryant would claim its first lead of the contest at the with 7:10 left, as Chris Birrell (Scituate, R.I. / Scituate) made a steal and found Parzych for a deep three from the left side, giving the Bulldogs a 22-20 edge.
The Bulldogs would lead by as many as five following an 8-2 Bryant run then ended with a Jerrann Wright (Cincinnati, Ohio / Dater) offensive rebound and put-back with 3:07 to go. Wright had six rebounds at the break while Gresham had five rebounds to compliment his seven points.
Trailing by five with time winding down in the half, Chris Martin hit a three from the right corner with five seconds remaining, cutting the Seahawk deficit to two as the teams headed to the locker rooms.
Bryant scored the first five of the second half as Gresham connected on a three and Andrew Lyell (Portsmouth, R.I. / Portsmouth) put in a lay-up, giving the home team its biggest lead of the game at 38-31 with 19:15 left in the contest. Lyell finished with six points.
The Seahawks responded with a quick 9-0 run over the next 1:30 to reclaim their first lead since the 7:50 mark in the first half, taking a 40-38 edge. Martin and Mundweiler both drilled three's in the run, as the Seahawks continued to fire away from the outside.
Gresham scored five-straight, swinging the lead back in favor of the Bulldogs at 43-40 with 16:09 remaining.
A 13-2 Wagner run, highlighted by an alley-oop to Justin Drummond, who dunked the ball while getting fouled, gave the Seahawks their biggest, taking a 53-45 advantage at the 11:15 mark.
Senior guard Pete Lambert (Cumberland, R.I. / Cumberland) then caught fire for Bryant, as he knocked-down three-straight three's to put the Bulldogs on a 9-0 run and re-take a one-point lead as the teams continued to battle back-and-forth.
But that would be the last lead for Bryant, as Wagner outscored the Bulldogs 19-6 over the last 9:24 of the game to turn a one-point deficit into a 12-point victory, holding the Bulldogs to two field goals in that stretch.
The run was due largely in part to high-pressure, full-court Seahawk defense, as they forced Bryant into nine second half turnovers, turning those into 17 points.
Parzych attempted just two shots in the second frame, as Gresham carried the scoring load with 12 in the final 20 minutes and Lambert added nine. The loss dropped Bryant to 6-5 against NEC opponents after having won three-straight road games.
Bryant plays the second of a four-game home-stand on Saturday afternoon in a Valentine's Day match-up with Central Connecticut (3:30 p.m.).