GRESHAM SCORES 1,000TH POINT; BULLDOGS FALL TO ST. JOHN’S, 80-44, WEDNESDAY NIGHT
December 23, 2009
GRESHAM SCORES 1,000TH CAREER POINT; BULLDOGS FALL TO ST. JOHN'S, 80-44, WEDNESDAY NIGHT
QUEENS, N.Y. - Despite making up a 12-point deficit early to tie the game at 14-14, the Bryant University men's basketball team was outmatched by a strong St. John's side, falling to the Red Storm, 80-44, Wednesday night at Carnesecca Arena in the team's final contest before the holiday break.
And while Bryant (0-12) may not have gotten the win, one Bulldog had something to celebrate a few days early. When the front end of a pair of free throws fell in with 7:15 left to play in Wednesday's contest, senior captain Cecil Gresham (Bloomfield, Conn.) became the 31st 1,000-point scorer in Bryant men's basketball history. The guard and leading scorer needed just four points to reach the benchmark entering Wednesday's contest and achieved just that, finishing the game with a quartet of tallies.
The landmark achievement was the highlight of the contest for the Bulldogs, who shot 35.4 percent from the floor and 31.3 percent from long distance. Junior Michael Chroney (Nashua, N.H.) also pulled out some highlight reel plays, including a catch-and-shoot bank shot while being knocked to the paint in the middle of the second frame. The walk-on guard, who earned his third-career start Wednesday, posted eight points (4-8), dished out three assists and pulled down a game-best eight rebounds. Senior Adam Parzych (Lindenhurst, N.Y.) led the Bulldogs with nine points off 3-for-4 shooting from the floor in 25 minutes of action.
The Red Storm (10-2) raced out to a 14-2 advantage in the game's first 3:44 before the Bulldogs played inspired ball to knot the score at 14-14 over the ensuing 2:39. Bryant went 4-for-4 during the 12-0 run, including going 2-for-2 from beyond the arc and adding a 2-for-2 mark from the line. The Bulldogs recorded two of their three first-half steals in that span and added a three of their seven assists.
But the Bulldogs' success woke up the St. John's offense, sparking a 9-0 run for the home side that would move the score to 23-14 with 10:07 to play in the opening frame.
Bryant would knock down just seven more points in the final 9:53 before the break while the Red Storm continued to shoot with consistency and accuracy, upping their lead to 43-21 and shooting at a .517 clip entering the halftime intermission.
Paris Horne's 15 points off 5-of-5 shooting from long range led the game after the opening 20 while six Bulldogs recorded at least three first-half points, none of them scoring more than four.
St. John's opened the second session with a trey from Dwight Hardy before the Bulldogs recorded their first basket of the half, a 3-pointer from Parzych off a Papa Lo (Thies, Senegal) dish 3:56 into the frame.
The home side soon upped its lead to 28 at the 12:49 mark, 54-26, with a layup from Sean Evans and would grow its advantage from there, eventually taking the 80-44 victory in front of the home crowd.
DJ Kennedy scored a game-high 18 points to lead three Red Storm players who finished with double-figure points. Justin Brownlee also pulled down eight rebounds to tie Chroney's game-best. St. John's shot 41.9 percent for the game after shooting 51.7 percent in the first half.
The Bulldogs now take a five-day break before returning to the court for a December 28 matchup against Indiana in Bloomington, Ind. (9 p.m. EST).