BULLDOGS LOOK FOR ROAD WIN IN 2010-11 CONFERENCE OPENER AT FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON THURSDAY NIGHT

Game Notes

TEANECK, N.J. – Bryant University men's basketball opens up 2010-11 Northeast Conference play Thursday, December 2 when the Bulldogs travel to Hackensack, N.J. to take on Fairleigh Dickinson at Stratis Arena at 7:00 p.m. 

THE SERIES
The Knights and the Bulldogs have faced off three times in their history, all three meetings coming in the last two seasons. FDU holds a 2-1 advantage in the all-time series after sweeping Bryant in a two-game set last year with a pair of January wins (60-55 at Stratis Arena in New Jersey, 67-55 at the Chace Athletic Center in Rhode Island). The Bulldogs took the first-ever meeting between the programs with a 56-43 home win January 17, 2009 during Bryant's inaugural Division I season. Thursday's contest marks the first time the teams have met outside the first month of the year.

SCOUTING THE KNIGHTS
Fairleigh Dickinson picked up its first win of the season Monday on the road, topping Longwood University, 83-78, on the back of 55.8 percent shooting from the floor. Preseason all-conference selection Mike Scott paces the Knights, averaging 18.8 points per game, while Terence Grier chips in another 12.5 to shoulder much of the scoring burden. Scott has 25 of the team's 44 assists on the year, while Kamil Svrdlik leads the team on the glass, averaging 9.8 rebounds per game, and has a squad-best eight blocks. As a team, the Knights are shooting 39.0 percent from the floor and 25.7 percent from beyond the arc with a .620 clip from the free throw line. FDU is 1-3 on the year with losses to Stony Brook, NC State and Albany.

BRYANT vs. THE NORTHEAST CONFERENCE
Thursday's game is the first for the Bulldogs against their home conference in 2010-11 and marks the start of the second year in which the Black and Gold will play a full NEC slate. Bryant has gone 7-25 against current Northeast Conference members since joining the Division I ranks, including posting a 6-8 mark against league foes in the program's inaugural DI season (2008-09). All-time against current Northeast Conference members, the Bulldog basketball program is 35-77, having most frequently played former Northeast-10 Conference (DII) member Quinnipiac (16-37). The Bulldogs played their first official NEC game just over a year ago on December 3, 2009 at LIU.

IF BRYANT WERE TO WIN...
— The victory would tie the all-time series at 2-2.
— The Bulldogs open Northeast Conference action with a win for the first time.
— The team would earn its first true road win of the year.
— Bryant would take its first victory at Stratis Arena.

LAST TIME OUT
Reigning Patriot League Player of the Year C.J. McCullom and sophomore classmate Gabe Knutson poured in 27 and 22 points, respectively, as Lehigh University exploded in the second half to take an 88-68 victory over the Bryant University men's basketball team Sunday night at Stabler Arena.

After a shaky start, a 9-0 run over 1:17 turned an eight-point Bryant (1-5) deficit into an 18-17 lead at the 10:45 mark of the opening frame. From there, neither team would allow its opponent more than a three-point edge until the 3:07 mark, when a long Raphael Jordan (Bel Air, Md.) jumper capped off an uninterrupted eight-point run to put the visitors on top by five, 35-30.

But those would be the last points Bryant would see in the half, as the Bulldogs went 0-for-3 and turned the ball over four times in the final three minutes to allow the Mountain Hawks (3-3) to end the frame on a 12-0 run and take a 42-35 lead into the break.

That lead would grow to 13 in the first five minutes of the second session before the Bulldogs cut the score to eight on a Frankie Dobbs (Berea, Ohio) trifecta at the 11:15 mark, 59-51.

But the Black and Gold wouldn't get any closer to the home side for the remainder of the contest. Possession binds early in the half forced the Bryant bench to use up all four of its remaining timeouts with nearly nine minutes left to play and its strongest inside scoring threat, freshman Alex Francis (Harlem, N.Y.), on the bench with four fouls. Sophomore counterpart Vlad Kondratyev (Nikolayev, Ukraine) would join him soon after, taking his fourth whistle with 6:46 remaining.

With no way to stop the clock or Lehigh's strong shooting ranks – led by McCollum's 27 points off 8-of-15 accuracy from the floor – Bryant just couldn't manufacture a second-half surge, eventually suffering an 88-68 defeat.

Kondratyev would foul out of the game with 2:20 left on the clock, ending his day 5-for-7 with a season-best 13 points. He was one of four Bulldogs to record double-digit points, led by Francis's 16 (6-of-15), and the pair was joined by 14 points from rookie starter Corey Maynard (Adelaide, Australia) and 12 from Dobbs. Francis fell a single rebound short of his third-career double-double in the effort but posted a game-high nine boards on the night.

Knutson echoed McCollum's effort with 22 points off 10-of-12 shooting from the field as the Mountain Hawks had four of their own finish in double figures. Lehigh went 18-for-23 from the line in the affair – including a 13-of-17 mark in the second frame – and scored 37 points off Bryant's 19 turnovers. The home side topped its visitors with a 54.2 shooting percentage, while the Bulldogs put up a respectable 46.3 clip.

UP NEXT
The Bulldogs break up five road contests with a single home game Wednesday, December 8 when they host Yale at the Chace Athletic Center in a 7 p.m. matchup.