Posted: Dec 02, 2009

BULLDOGS OPEN NEC ACTION AT LIU THURSDAY NIGHT

December 2, 2009

BULLDOGS OPEN NORTHEAST CONFERENCE PLAY AT LONG ISLAND THURSDAY IN SEARCH OF FIRST WIN OF 2009-10 SEASON

SMITHFIELD, R.I. -- The Bryant University men's basketball team will play its first official Northeast Conference contest Thursday, Dec. 3 when it takes on Long Island University in Brooklyn, N.Y. The Bulldogs, still in search of their first win of the 2009-10 season, went 1-1 against the Blackbirds last season. Tipoff is at 7 p.m.

THE PARTICULARS
The Bulldogs make their Northeast Conference debut on Thursday, Dec. 3 when they visit Long Island University to open up 2009-10 league play. Although Bryant faced off against opponents from the NEC last season, Thursday's game will be the Bulldogs' first official Northeast Conference matchup since being included in the league standings prior to the opening of the 2009-10 campaign. Tipoff is 7 p.m.

THE SERIES
Bryant and LIU have met twice before, both matchups coming in the Bulldogs' first DI campaign last season. Bryant fell to the Blackbirds, 76-61, in the teams' first meeting on Jan. 7, 2009 in Brooklyn, but avenged the loss, 57-55, when LIU made the return visit to the Chace Athletic Center for a Jan. 24 rematch. Senior Cecil Gresham (Bloomfield, Conn.) averaged 12.5 points per game versus the Blackbirds, also pacing Bryant on the glass with 10 rebounds.

SCOUTING THE BLACKBIRDS
Led by reigning NEC Player of the Week and preseason all-conference selection Jaytornah Wisseh, Long Island enters Thursday's matchup with a 2-3 record but have faced off against some stiff competition, including St. John's and Seton Hall. Wisseh has led the Blackbirds in points scored in three of their five games this season and averages 20.8 points per outing on the young season. Kyle Johnson and Kenny Onyechi trail him, each chipping in 9.0 points per game, while Johnson pulls down a team-best 6.6 boards per contest. Wisseh and Onyechi each shoot better than 50 percent from the floor, led by Wisseh's 57.1 percent conversion. The senior guard is also strong from long range (.368 pct.) and from the line (.806 pct.) and leads the team with 18 assists. Both LIU and Bryant have already stacked up against Army this season, with both teams suffering setbacks.

BRYANT vs. THE NORTHEAST CONFERENCE
Thursday's game will be the first for the Bulldogs against their home conference, and Bryant will play a full NEC slate in 2009-10. Last season, the Black and Gold went 6-8 against NEC members, getting wins over Quinnipiac (twice), LIU, Fairleigh Dickinson, Saint Francis (PA) and Monmouth. All-time against current Northeast Conference members, the Bulldog basketball program is 34-60, having most frequently played former Northeast-10 Conference (DII) members Quinnipiac (16-35).

LAST TIME OUT
The Bulldogs severely threatened Army's five-game winning streak, but despite a season-high 20 points from senior captain Chris Birrell and 55 percent shooting in the first half, the Bryant University men's basketball team dropped its sixth-straight contest, 64-58, on the road at Christl Arena Monday night.

Birrell was the only Bulldog to score double-digit points and his game-high 20 came off 6-of-11 shooting, all of it coming beyond the arc. The guard hit his career-best sixth 3-pointer with 20 seconds remaining in the game to bring the score to 61-58, but it would be Bryant's last point in the loss. Junior Barry Latham paced both teams on the glass, pulling down a contest-best 10 rebounds, while sophomore Papa Lo posted four blocks to lead the game. Senior Adam Parzych dished out a game-high six assists on the day.

The Bulldogs got off to their most confident start yet, winning the opening tip and taking a quick 8-3 lead. The first five minutes of the contest saw Bryant knock down a quartet of 3-pointers, including the first career trey for rookie Claybrin McMath in 14 tries.

Bryant would hit four more from long distance in the frame, including back-to-back 3-pointers from Vlad Kondratyev and Parzych that would allow the visitors to take their biggest lead of the night, 24-16, with 7:26 to play. But the Black Knights would tie it up, 26-26, with 5:32 to go in the frame and the teams would trade leads over the next five minutes.

Army took its first lead of the night during the span, 28-26, but Bryant's Raphael Jordan would quickly retie the game. The freshman would go 6-for-6 from the line on the day. Lo kept it tied at 28-28 on the next play with a huge block on Ella Ellis at the 3:02 mark, marking Bryant's third rejection in the opening 20 minutes.

The first of two-consecutive Birrell treys gave the Bulldogs a three-point advantage with just over 2:30 to play, but back-to-back buckets from the Black Knight ranks earned the home side the 32-31 lead with 48 seconds remaining. Birrell sunk another from 3-point land with just seven seconds on the clock to give Bryant a two-point, 34-32 edge - a score that nearly went to intermission before a controversial foul called on Jordan with a tenth of a second remaining sent Josh Miller to the line, where he hit one of three free throws, sending the game to break with a 34-33 halftime tally in Bryant's favor.

But after shooting 55 percent (11-of-20) from the field in the first, Bryant struggled to find net out of the intermission. Five turnovers in the first six minutes of second-half play caused the Bulldogs to relinquish their lead, and the visitors found themselves in a 44-36 hole courtesy of an 11-2 Black Knights run over 5:12 to start the frame.

Birrell pulled the Bulldogs within two, 44-42, with 11:01 on the clock with his third three of the contest, but dismal shooting through much of the half coupled with miscues and turnovers hindered the Black and Gold.

Bryant would get back to within four, 57-53, thanks to five-straight points from Birrell with just over two minutes to play, and the hope for a comeback upset was revived again with 1:06 remaining with a Latham theft off the inbound. But after the Bulldogs gave it back without making a basket, Army converted on 7-of-10 free throws in the final minute, securing their fifth-straight victory, 64-58.

On the day, the Bulldogs shot 36.4 percent (16-44) from the field, hitting at a 41.4 percent clip from behind the arc (12-of-29). Army converted on 40.4 percent of all shots (23-57), but struggled from the charity stripe, making good on just 12-of-21 opportunities (57.1 percent). Bryant would shoot 82.4 percent (14-17) from the line. The Black and Gold would just edge the Black Knights on the glass, 35-34, but turned the ball over 20 times to Army's 12.

UP NEXT
Bryant stays in Brooklyn for a noon matchup against Northeast Conference opponent St. Francis (NY) on Saturday, Dec. 5. Saturday's contest will be broadcast on MSG and Fox College Sports and will be tape delayed to play locally on Cox-3 in Rhode Island and Eastern Connecticut on Sunday night (7 p.m.). The Bulldogs are winless in one previous meeting against the Terriers.

STRING THEORY
The Bulldogs' biggest struggle has been stringing together strong play in consecutive halves this season. Bryant has shot better than 40 percent in six of its 12 halves this season but have only done so in consecutive frames twice, both losses. The Bulldogs have outscored their opponents in three halves (and have tied once), but never in the same game. And the differences before and after the halftime break have been dramatic. In three games this season, the Bulldogs have seen their first-half shooting percentage fluctuate by at least 10 percentage points, the most extreme difference coming against Army (55 percent in the first half, 20.8 percent in the second). Only twice has the team stayed within five percentage points in consecutive halves (vs. PC - 32% up to 35.3%; vs. Mercer (45% down to 41.2%).

If you compare the numbers from Bryant's strong half against its weaker one in each game this season, the Bulldogs not only shoot more often (179 to 142) and more accurately (43 percent to just 32.4 percent) in the stronger frame, but they also dish out more assists (52 to 24) and commit less turnovers (37 to 62).

7-DOWN
The Bulldogs must get a win Thursday against LIU if they want to avoid becoming statistical record book fodder. With a seventh loss to start the year, the 2009-10 Bulldogs would join teams from the 1989-90 season and the 1991-92 season for the longest winless streak to open a season in Bryant history. The program's longest-ever losing streak? 15 games in 1991-92 (1-23 to open the year).

CAREER DAY
Senior captain Chris Birrell set a new career mark with his six made 3-pointers against Army Monday night. The guard's previous record for 3s made in a single game was five, a number he hit twice, most recently against Bentley on Feb. 2, 2008. The 20 points against the Black Knights was also a game and season high. Birrell is currently eighth on Bryant's all-time list for 3-point field goals made (103).

IT ALL ADDS McUP
Frosh Claybrin McMath has been persistent from beyond the arc, and despite good-looking shots through the first five games of the season, none have fallen in. All that changed Monday against Army. After 13 fruitless attempts from long range, McMath converted on his first career 3-pointer just 1:18 into Monday's contest. The rookie forward went 2-2 from a distance in the first half.

FREEING UP THE TOP SPOT
While it is still early in the season, statistically speaking the Bulldogs are tops in the league when it comes to shooting freebies. Bryant converts on 73.7 percent of all opportunities from the charity stripe (56-of-76) and is led by freshman Raphael Jordan, who is 13-of-14 (.929) from the line and is third in the NEC's individual standings.