BULLDOGS OUTMATCHED BY INDIANA, SUFFER 90-42 DEFEAT AT ASSEMBLY HALL MONDAY NIGHT
December 28, 2009
BULLDOGS OUTMATCHED BY INDIANA, SUFFER 90-42 DEFEAT AT ASSEMBLY HALL MONDAY NIGHT
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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Junior Michael Chroney (Nashua, N.H.) scored a team-high 13 points and added a game-best nine rebounds to lead the Bryant University men's basketball team, but the Bulldogs were outmatched by their Big Ten opponent, falling to Indiana, 90-42, in front of 11,138 Monday night at Assembly Hall.
Chroney's 13 points were a career-best for the junior walk-on, who earned the fourth start of his career against the Hoosiers. He also led the team on the glass with his nine rebounds, just missing his second-career double-double. Freshman Vlad Kondratyev (Nikolayev, Ukraine) also recorded double-digit points with 10 off 4-of-10 shooting from the floor. The Bulldogs were held to a season-low 42 points and shot just 25 percent from the field.
Bryant (0-13) worked hard in the offensive end throughout the contest, particularly in the first half, getting some good looks but not much reward for its efforts. The Bulldogs hit just six baskets in the opening frame, shooting 22.2 percent from the floor (6-27), and were sent to the locker room with a 45-17 halftime deficit.
The Hoosiers (6-6) opened up a big lead right out of the gates, taking a 12-2 edge before Bryant got its first basket of the game off a 3-pointer from the hands of freshman Erick Smith (Bel Air, Md.) on the wing. But Indiana responded with a trey of its own to regain the double-figure advantage, 15-5.
Bryant's next score came from an unlikely source in defensive bigman Papa Lo (Thies, Senegal) down low at the 10:53 mark, fed from rookie Raphael Jordan (Bel Air, Md.) on the right side. The layup cut the Hoosiers' lead to 19-7, but not for long.
The home side's double-digit advantage would hold for the remainder of the frame, highlighted by five 3-point field goals, three of them coming back-to-back-to-back. The Hoosiers would take a 28-point lead into the break, their final points coming off a Devan Dumes runner as time expired.
Smith's five points led the Bulldogs at the half, while Chroney pulled down five boards entering intermission.
Bryant would come out of the break on a 7-2 run, but after Barry Latham (Taunton, Mass.) capped it off with a four-point play to move the score to 47-24 just 1:28 into the second frame - Christian Watford fouled the junior forward in the right corner as his shot fell in from long range - Bryant went cold, allowing the Hoosiers 14-straight points to put the game out of reach.
The Bulldogs would record five blocks on the day, including two apiece from Lo and Kondratyev. Sophomore Sam Leclerc (Fayette, Maine) made a game-high three steals.
Watford and Verdell Jones III led the contest with 15 points apiece while Watford also pulled down a game-high nine rebounds, tying Chroney. The Hoosiers shot 55.2 percent from the floor and outrebounded Bryant, 50-32.
The Bulldogs will welcome in the new year with their final non-conference matchup of the 2009-10 season when they travel to Cornell University on January 2. Tipoff is slated for 2 p.m.