Posted: Nov 20, 2009

BULLDOG MEN TRAVEL TO HARVARD FRIDAY IN SEARCH OF SEASON'S FIRST WIN

November 19, 2009

BULLDOGS LOOK FOR FIRST WIN OF SEASON, TRAVEL TO HARVARD FRIDAY FOR 7 P.M. MATCHUP

THE GAME
Bryant at Harvard
Friday, November 20, 2009 (7 p.m.)
Lavietes Pavilion, Cambridge, Mass.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS
This is the first meeting between the Bulldogs and the Crimson.

SCOUTING THE CRIMSON
The Crimson are coming off a confidence-boosting 87-85 triple-overtime win over William & Mary, having already beated Holy Cross, 87-77, in the 2009-10 season opener. Jeremy Lin leads the team in scoring, averaging 21.5 points per game through two contests this season and chips in 4.0 rebounds per outing, good for second on the team. Pat Magnarelli paces the Crimson on the glass, pulling down 6.0 boards per game while Oliver McNally leads the team from beyond the arc, sniping at a .545 clip (6-11) and having taken just two shots (1-2) from inside three-point range. Harvard is led by third-year head coach Tommy Amaker.

BRYANT vs. THE IVY LEAGUE
The Bulldogs have matched up with Ivy League opponents just four times in their short Division I history, going 1-3 against the conference last season. Bryant got its win with a 69-58 topping of Yale on January 2, 2009 at the Chace Athletic Center. In program history, Bryant basketball is 1-9 against the conference, having taken on nearby Brown University most frequently (0-7). Two Bulldogs average 12 points per game or better against Ivy League competition, with senior captain Cecil Gresham (Bloomfield, Conn.) leading the way with a 12.8 ppg average. Senior Nick Pontes (New Bedford, Mass.) also fares well against the Ivies, averaging 12.0 points per outing, shooting at a 56.8 percent clip (21-37) in four contests. As a team, the Bulldogs shoot .390 against Ivy League opponents.

WELCOME TO THE BIG LEAGUES
The Bulldogs got off to a rough start to the 2009-10 campaign, opening with one of their toughest weekends of the year at the World Vision Invitational, hosted by Providence College. Bryant squared off against a trio of top Division I competitors from the Big East, the Patriot League and the Atlantic Sun Conference, getting edged in all three matches. The back-to-back-to-back contests were also the collegiate debut of six new Bulldogs, including highly touted freshmen Raphael Jordan (Bel Air, Md.), Vlad Kondratyev (Nikolayev, Ukraine) and Claybrin McMath (Adelaide, Australia) as well as UMass transfer Papa Lo (Thies, Senegal), who was forced to sit out last season due to NCAA transfer rules.

LAST TIME OUT
Despite closing a 20-point second-half deficit to just three points with eight minutes to play, the Bulldogs dropped a heartbreaker to Bucknell University, 59-56, Sunday afternoon in the final day of the World Vision Invitational, hosted by Providence College at the Dunkin' Donuts Center. Bryant shot 42.4 percent in the second frame and got 26 points from senior Cecil Gresham (Bloomfield, Conn.), but would run out of time before completing the comeback.

After fighting through a 20-point deficit early in the second frame, the Bulldogs found themselves facing just a seven-point hole, 55-48, as the game clock ticked under a minute. Senior Adam Parzych (Lindenhurst, N.Y.) dribbled down the court and with a quick glance toward the sideline found teammate Chris Birrell (Scituate, R.I.), who gave the Bulldogs a three-point boost, driving the score to 55-51. After a made Bucknell free throw, junior Barry Latham (Tauton, Mass.) converted his only 3-point attempt of the contest to drawing the score to two, 56-54, with 32 seconds to play. And while the Bison were feeling the pressure in the closing seconds, going just 3-for-6 from the line in the last 31 ticks, time would run out on the Black and Gold.

The Bulldogs outscored their opponents, 21-4, in a 5:33 span in the second half to bring the game to within three, 43-40, after taking a 25-15 deficit into the halftime break. Over the stretch, Bryant forced weak shot selection and a trio of Bucknell turnovers, coupling it with lights-out shooting from Gresham, who accounted for 11 points on 4-for-4 shooting, including a perfect 3-for-3 from long range.

In spite of the loss, the Bulldogs improved on almost every facet of their game Sunday afternoon, upping their stock on defense - Bryant got a game-best five blocks from sophomore Papa Lo (Thies, Senegal) and held the Bison to 33.3 percent shooting on the day - and on the glass, getting edged in rebounds just 40-36. Gresham's 26 points were a game high and season best for the senior, who went 9-for-16 from the floor on the day. Parzych pulled down a game-best eight boards and chipped in three assists and seven points while Lo was also strong on the glass, getting seven rebounds. As a team, Bryant shot 37 percent (20-for-54) on the day with a 41.2 percent clip (7-of-17) from three-point range.

UP NEXT
Bryant takes on its second-straight Ivy League opponent when it welcomes Brown to the Chace Athletic Center for the 2009-10 home opener. The game is one of just two home contests in the first semester and the Bulldogs will look to even the score after suffering a 69-56 loss to the Bears last season at the Pizzitola Center.

COLD TURKEY
The Bulldogs haven been cold in the first halves so far this season, but have picked up the pace in the final 20 minutes. Bryant has been outscored, 120-54, through the first frame in three games this year, while being outscored by just four combined points in the closing half, 115-111.

BABY GRAND
Senior Cecil Gresham (Bloomfield, Conn.) returns to the Bulldogs in 2009-10 looking to repeat his star performance from last season. And while last season's numbers were remarkable, this Bulldog has been at the top of the game for his entire Bryant career. Over his three years in Smithfield so far, Gresham has appeared in 93 games, starting in 72, averaging nearly 26 minutes per outing. He has racked up 367 rebounds, 29 blocks, 85 assists and 49 steals, but those numbers are nothing compared to the career benchmark he is fast approaching. Through the first three games of the season, Gresham has 932 points to his name and needs just 68 more to become the 31st 1,000-point scorer in Bryant men's basketball history. Gresham currently sits at No. 31 on the all-time career points list.

So far this season, Gresham paces the Bulldog offense, averaging 16 points per game. The senior broke out against Bucknell, hitting at a .563 clip (9-16) for a game-best 26 points and going 4-for-7 from long range. He has two blocks on the season and is shooting 38.6 percent from the floor.

BULLDOGS WON'T BACK DOWN
After playing one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the country in 2008-09, taking on teams such as Boston College, Maryland, UConn, Rutgers, Providence College, Iowa, Cornell and Army, the Bulldogs are at it again. Head coach Tim O'Shea has scheduled another difficult slate for his Black and Gold in 2009-10, and the Bulldogs will open their season with a rematch against crosstown rival PC. From there, Bryant takes on Ivy and Patriot League stars Harvard and Army on the road before facing four of the toughest opponents in program history as part of a six-game road trip spanning the new year. The Bulldogs open the stretch with another visit to Conte Forum to take on the Eagles (Dec. 20) before challenging the BIG EAST's St. John's on Dec. 23. After Christmas, Bryant returns for a matchup against college basketball powerhouse Indiana on Dec. 28 and follows it up with faceoff against a dominant Cornell team. The Black and Gold will wrap up the roadtrip with road bouts against Fairleigh Dickinson and Monmouth. Also included in Bryant's tough non-conference schedule is a matchup with crosstown rival Brown and the Ivy League's Columbia - the only non-conference home matches of the year - as well as bouts with Yale, Mercer and Bucknell. Bryant will also play a full Northeast Conference schedule for the first time in 2009-10 and will be included in the standings despite being ineligible for postseason play.

HOME SWEET HOME
The Bulldogs play 11 home games this regular season, hosting first-semester contests against Brown (Nov. 25) and Columbia (Dec. 12) at the Chace Athletic Center. After the winter break, Bryant will welcome conference opponents Sacred Heart (Jan. 14), Quinnipiac (Jan. 16), Fairleigh Dickinson (Jan. 28), Monmouth (Jan. 30), Central Connecticut (Feb. 4), Saint Francis (PA) (Feb. 11), Robert Morris (Feb. 13) and St. Francis (NY) (Feb. 25) before closing out the season at home against Long Island (Feb. 27).

CAN'T MAKE IT TO THE GAME?
Bryant University Athletics has partnered with Pack Network, who will be providing an industry-leading video streaming solution for more than 50 home contests during the 2009-10 athletic season, including live broadcasts of all 11 Bryant University home men's basketball games. Live event productions will include multiple camera angles, an on-screen scoreboard and state-of-the-art graphics. Fans can purchase an all-access pass for $75, giving subscribers the opportunity to watch not only all the live coverage of Bryant sporting events, but also access to premium content not available to the public. Single-game subscriptions may also be purchased for each live event throughout the season for $5.95. Visit www.bryantbulldogs.tv for more information and a schedule of events.

BRYANT HOOPS ON WOON AND WJMF RADIO
In addition to being streamed online at www.bryantbulldogs.tv, for the second-straight season, all Bryant University basketball home games and select road contests can be heard LIVE on WOON 1240 AM. Veteran sportscaster Jon Wallach of 98.5 FM The Sports Hub Boston returns to call the action as the voice of the Bulldogs. WJMF, Bryant's student radio station, will also broadcast home contests for the 2009-10 season.

TV STARS
The Bryant men will make a pair of appearances on regional television this season. The Bulldogs will appear on Fox College Sports (FCS) and Madison Square Garden TV (MSG) twice and will also appear on the BIG-10 Network. Bryant will first appear when it travels to Brooklyn, N.Y. on December 5 (12 p.m. start) for a conference game against St. Francis (NY). Fox College Sports and MSG will also carry the teams' rematch when the league opponents meet again on February 25, 2009 at the Chace Athletic Center (7:30 p.m. start). Both games will be carried live locally on Cox Sports-3 in Rhode Island and Eastern Connecticut. Bryant will appear on the BIG-10 Network for the second year in a row when the Bulldogs travel to Indiana on Dec. 29 for a 9 pm (EST) game with the Hoosiers. Last year, Bryant made its debut on the BIG-10 Network when the Bulldogs took on the University of Iowa.