QUINNIPIAC DOWNS BRYANT, 80-66, IN MEN'S BASKETBALL SATURDAY
January 16, 2010
QUINNIPIAC DEFEATS BRYANT, 80-66, SATURDAY AFTERNOON AT CHACE ATHLETIC CENTER
SMITHFIELD, R.I - Quinnipiac senior guard James Feldeine scored a game-high 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the floor to lead the visiting Bobcats to an 80-66 Northeast Conference win over Bryant University Saturday afternoon at the Chace Athletic Center.
Quinnipiac (11-6, 5-1 NEC) attempted a season-high 37 free throws in the game, making 28, and scored 26 points off 16 Bryant turnovers to roll to its fifth-straight win and seventh of its last eight contests. Bryant (0-18, 0-6) was led by a team-high 14 points from senior captain Chris Birrell (Scituate, R.I.) as the Bulldogs shot 45 percent from the floor.
Bryant got off to a strong start, looking for its first win of the season. A 12-4 run keyed by a pair of short-range jumpers and a 3-pointer from the top of the key by Vlad Kondratyev (Nikolayev, Ukraine) gave the Bulldogs a 22-14 lead at the midway point of the first half.
A three by QU's James Johnson cut the lead to 24-22, while a layup by Deontay Twyman and a bucket inside by Dave Johnson put the visitors back on top, 26-24, with five minutes left before the break.
Bryant shot well from the floor in the first frame, making 12-of-23 shots from the floor (52 percent), but Quinnipiac took a 34-29 lead into the locker room at the intermission.
Quinnipiac looked ready to put the game away early in the second half as a deep three from Feldeine put the Bobcats ahead, 50-37, but the Bulldogs were not ready to go away just yet thanks to the play of a pair of standout freshmen.
A pretty drive in the lane by Raphael Jordan (Bel Air, Md.) followed by a three by the freshman guard on the right side cut the lead down to 57-50 with 10 minutes left.
Bryant pulled to within 59-52 a minute later as sophomore center Papa Lo (Thies, Senegal) hit Adam Parzych (Lindenhurst, N.Y.) with a nice outlet pass after a Quinnipiac miss. Parzych would hit freshman Claybrin McMath (Adelaide, Australia) in stride for a layup and foul to get the Bulldogs back within 59-52 with 9:53 left to play.
But that would be as close as the Bulldogs would get as Quinnipiac closed out the game on a 21-12 run with 11 of those points coming from the free throw line in the final five minutes of play.
Jordan finished with 13 points on 4-of-9 shooting for the Bulldogs while Kondratyev chipped in with 12 points and three rebounds. Johnson finished with 16 points for Quinnipiac while Jeremy Baker had 11 points, including a perfect 7-for-7 mark from the free throw line. The Bobcats turned the ball over just seven times and shot 44.2 percent from floor.
Bryant and Quinnipiac will meet again this Thursday in Hamden, Conn. starting at 7:30 p.m.