BULLDOGS FALL TO BOSTON COLLEGE, 72-46, IN SUNDAY AFTERNOON ROAD BATTLE
December 20, 2009
BULLDOGS FALL TO BOSTON COLLEGE, 72-46, IN SUNDAY AFTERNOON ROAD BATTLE
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. - Senior captain Cecil Gresham (Bloomfield, Conn.) scored 18 points off 7-of-13 shooting from the floor, but the Bryant University men's basketball team couldn't pull out a win against Boston College on the road Sunday afternoon, dropping a 72-46 non-conference decision at Conte Forum.
The Eagles (7-4) took a 38-16 halftime lead, taking twice as many shots as Bryant, 38-19 in the first half. But the Bulldogs (0-11) kept it close to open the second frame, getting outscored by just three, 16-13, in the first 10 minutes of the frame.
Bryant's defense would continue to step up throughout the second half, causing miscues and turnovers and putting pressure on the BC offense. But despite increased point production, the Bulldogs couldn't cut into BC's 20-plus point lead, eventually falling, 72-46.
The Bulldogs nearly doubled their first-half point production in the closing 20 minutes and were outscored by just four points, 34-30. Bryant shot 34.5 percent in the second session for a .333 clip on the day.
In the first half, the Eagles opened up a double-digit lead just under 10 minutes into the contest, growing their advantage to 15 points before back-to-back 3-pointers from Gresham and fellow senior Adam Parzych (Lindenhurst, N.Y.) closed the gap to 21-12 with 7:20 to play before the break.
But BC would rip off a 17-4 run to close first-half scoring, taking a 38-16 lead into the intermission.
On the day, Bryant got a team-high 18 points from Gresham, leaving the senior captain just four points shy of becoming the program's 31st 1000-point scorer. Junior Michael Chroney (Nashua, N.H.) led the team on the glass, pulling down six boards while adding six points and a block. Parzych and senior Nick Pontes (New Bedford, Mass.) chipped in seven points apiece.
The Eagles were led by a game-best 21 points from Joe Trapani off 9-of-13 shooting from the field while Corey Raji collected 20 points in 30 minutes of action.
The Bulldogs will hit the court once more before a five-day holiday break, taking on St. John's on December 23 at 7 p.m.