KONDRATYEV, FRANCIS RECORD DOUBLE-DOUBLES AS BULLDOGS FALL TO LONG ISLAND, 75-55, THURSDAY NIGHT

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Sophomore Vlad Kondratyev (Nikolayev, Ukraine) and freshman Alex Francis (Harlem, N.Y.) each put up double-double performances Thursday night, but the Bryant University men's basketball team couldn't keep up with Long Island in its Northeast Conference home opener as the Bulldogs fell, 75-55, at the Chace Athletic Center.

Kondratyev finished the game with 10 points and a career-high 13 rebounds while Francis logged a game-high 18 points and grabbed 10 boards in the contest. The accomplishment marked the first time two Bulldogs have recorded double-doubles in the same game in the Division I era and were the fifth and sixth such performances of the 2010-11 season.

Sophomore Raphael Jordan (Bel Air, Md.) added nine points for the Bulldogs (2-13, 0-3 NEC) while junior Papa Lo (Thies, Senegal) registered a season-best and game-high four blocks.

Julian Boyd recorded a double-double of his own for the Blackbirds (10-4, 2-1 NEC) with 12 points and 13 rebounds, while Long Island had a total of four players reach double-digit scoring. The Blackbirds shot 43.7 percent from the floor while the home squad shot 36.9 percent overall. As a team, Bryant outrebounded Long Island on the day, 46-45.

Both teams were slow out of the gate until David Hicks hit back-to-back 3-pointers to open up the scoring for the Blackbirds. While Long Island shot from outside, Bryant came right back down low, starting with an on offensive rebound and putback by Kondratyev, while Barry Latham (Taunton, Mass.) followed shortly with a jumper to cut LIU's lead to 8-4.

The Blackbirds began to make more shots over the course of the half but the Bulldogs hung tough on the glass. That effort paid off at the 10:30 mark, when Francis and Jordan secured a series of offensive boards, ending with a strong drive to the basket by Jordan to finish.

Despite Bryant's strength on the boards, Long Island continued to find the basket, as a Michael Culpo trey capped off a 15-2 run over eight minutes of action. The Bulldogs kept up the pressure, however, as Kondratyev followed a hard-driving layup with a shot from beyond the arc, pulling Bryant within 14 points, 25-11, with 5:46 to go in the frame. Francis and Frankie Dobbs (Berea, Ohio) also contributed to the scoring efforts over the final minutes of the half, but the Blackbirds would go into the halftime on top, 41-22.

At halftime, Kondratyev led the Bulldogs with 10 points and nine rebounds while Jamal Olasewere and Hicks paced the Blackbirds with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Lo made his presence known as well with three blocked shots for Bryant. Long Island shot 7-for-18 on 3-point attempts in the opening half.

Francis was the main scoring option for the Bulldogs at the start of the second session, as the freshman hit a trio of layups in the opening four minutes to help chip away at the Blackbird lead. While Francis took care of the scoring, Kondratyev handled the rebounding and secured his first career double-double with a board early in the stanza.

A few minutes later, Francis hit a deep jumper and the freshman came back in the next possession to field an impressive pass from Dobbs down low and finished with an easy layup. Francis scored 12 of the Bulldogs' first 15 points in the half to pull the home side within 15 points, 52-37, at the 12-minute mark, but Long Island answered with 13-2 run and never looked back as the Blackbirds went on to secure the 75-55 victory.

Despite the loss, Bryant kept pace with its opponent through the final 20 minutes, scoring just a single point less, 34-33, while shooting 45.2 percent to LIU's 43.8 percent.

The Black and Gold return to NEC action on Saturday, Jan. 8 when they host St. Francis (NY) at 4:00 p.m.