MEN'S BASKETBALL COMES UP SHORT AGAINST HARVARD, 69-66 WEDNESDAY

November 24, 2010

BRYANT MEN'S BASKETBALL COMES UP JUST SHORT TO HARVARD, 69-66 IN NON-LEAGUE ACTION WEDNESDAY

SMITHFIELD, R.I. -  Bryant's Frankie Dobbs (Berea, Ohio) scored 15 points while freshman Alex Francis (Harlem, N.Y.) poured in 14 on seven-of-14 shooting from the floor but it was not enough as Harvard's Christian Webster drained a 3-pointer with 25 seconds left for what would be the game winner as the Crimson escaped with 69-66 win over the Bulldogs Wednesday afternoon at the Chace Athletic Center.

Freshman Alex Francis scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor in Wednesday's 69-66 loss to Harvard at the Chace Athletic Center.

Bryant (1-4) took a 66-62 lead on a 3-pointer by Cecil Gresham (Bloomfield, Conn.) on the baseline with 1:41 remaining.  Harvard would respond as junior forward Keith Wright got position in the paint and scored while drawing a foul on Bryant's Francis.  The play proved crucial as it was Francis' fifth foul of the game sending the standout freshman to the bench with just over a minute to play.

Francis was having his way inside against Harvard (3-1) throughout the second half as the two-time NEC Rookie of the Week scored 12 of his 14 points in the second frame on 6-of-8 shooting from the field. 

Following Wright's free throw to complete the 3-point play, Bryant's Corey Maynard (Adelaide, Australia) missed a 3-point attempt, setting up the game-winner by Webster who drained a long three in front of the Harvard bench after a nice pass from Wright inside. 

The basket put Harvard up 68-66, but with only two teams fouls, the Crimson were able to burn most of the time remaining and preventing the Bulldogs from getting a potential game-tying or game-winning basket off. 

Bryant failed to attempt a single free throw in the game as the Crimson out-shot the Bulldogs 18 to 0 for the game at the stripe.  Harvard made 13 free throws and finished shooting a solid 49 percent from the floor in the game.  Wright, a 6-8 forward from Suffolk, Virginia had a game-high 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds plus added three blocks.  Guard Brandyn Curry was the only other Harvard player to reach double figures with 14 and three assists. 

Dobbs, who played nearly all 40 minutes, made 6-of-12 from the floor including 3-for-8 from three-point range and dished out five assists. The Bulldogs, who finished the game shooting 43.3 percent from the field, out-rebounded the Crimson 34-33 getting eight boards apiece from Gresham (9 points) and Vlad Krondratyev (Nikolayev, Ukraine) who finished with eight points.

Bryant will travel to Bethlehem, Pa. this Sunday to face Lehigh in another non-conference game starting at 7 pm.  Harvard will return home to play host to Colorado starting at 1 p.m.