BULLDOGS MOUNT COMEBACK OF THE YEAR, TOPPLE PRESEASON FAVORITE QUINNIPIAC, 69-61, ON ROAD THURSDAY NIGHT

HAMDEN, Conn. – Down 23 points with less than four minutes to play in the first half, not one person outside the Bryant University locker room thought it would be possible.

But with 1:38 left in regulation, senior Cecil Gresham nailed a 3-pointer from the right side to seal up one of the most dramatic come-from-behind victories in Bryant history, putting the Bulldogs up for good en route to a nearly unfathomable 69-61 comeback win over NEC preseason favorite Quinnipiac on the road at the TD Bank Sports Center. The win marks the first time Bryant has earned back-to-back victories since the 2008-09 season.

The visiting Bulldogs (4-13, 2-3 Northeast Conference) more than doubled up host Quinnipiac (11-4, 3-2) in second-half action, 54-25, led by 15 points from sophomore guard Frankie Dobbs (Berea, Ohio) and 14 from rookie Alex Francis (Harlem, N.Y.), whose game-best 22 points came off 7-of-13 shooting from the field (5-7 in the second frame). But the game didn't start out that way.

Outmatched from the outset of the first half, the Bulldogs went the opening 13:36 without scoring a single basket, as bad luck coupled with poor shot selection and nine turnovers awarded Quinnipiac a 23-3 advantage. The Bulldogs scored just two points in the opening 10 minutes – three in the opening 13 – all from the charity stripe before registering their first bucket of the night, a trey from rookie Matt Lee (Bloomfield, N.J.) out of the left corner, with 6:24 to play before the break. Bryant's scoring situation was exacerbated by the fact that Gresham, a top scoring threat, would be whistled for three fouls and play just nine minutes in the frame.

Bryant would score only two more baskets in the opening half – both coming from Francis – while going 8-for-13 from the free throw line to cut into the Bobcats' lead, but the visitors would enter the locker room down big at the half, 36-15.

But a whole new team emerged after the intermission. The visiting Black and Gold burst out of the break for the first six points of the half and used a 13-2 opening run to cut Quinnipiac's lead to 38-28 less than five minutes in.

Bryant wouldn't stop there. The Bulldogs were shooting at an alarming rate – a blistering 88.9 percent through the opening nine minutes – and a three-point play from Francis at the 12:52 mark cut the score to single digits for the first time, 44-36.

Buckets from senior Barry Latham (Taunton, Mass.) and Francis brought it down to just three, 44-41, with 11:24 to play. And with 10:33 showing on the clock, Saturday's hero Corey Maynard (Adelaide, Australia) closed the gap completely, draining a three from the right corner for a 46-44 Bulldog lead. The trey capped off a 31-8 run that stretched nearly the first 10 minutes of the half.

The visiting Bulldogs would maintain a slight edge, never more than four points, until the 4:22 mark, when a breakaway 3-pointer from James Johnson put the Bobcats back on top, 56-54. But a runner from Dobbs reknotted the game at 56-56 less than a minute later, sending the teams into the final two minutes with a tie score.

Neither side would find the net for more than 90 seconds as the clock ticked closer and closer to zero. As the tension mounted, Gresham took the ball, stepping up for one of his biggest shots of the season. And with 1:38 to play, the fifth-year season drilled the game-breaking three – his only bucket of the day – for a 59-56 lead that Bryant wouldn't relinquish. The Bulldogs went 10-of-12 down the stretch, forcing the Bobcats into four missed shots in the final 50 seconds to make the unbelievable 69-61 comeback final.

It was a result no one would have believed in an opening half that saw Bryant suffer through 18-2 and 23-6 deficits. The Bulldogs would shoot just 12 percent in the first session (3-for-25), but responded with 53.8 percent shooting in the final 20 minutes (14-of-26) to finish the day at 33.3 percent, besting Quinnipiac's 31.4 percent clip (24.1 percent in the second half). Francis led the Bulldogs with eight boards, while Ike Azotam posted the game's only double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds for the home side.

Bryant faces another test in just two days, as the team turns around to return to Connecticut Saturday afternoon in search of its first winning streak of the season. The Bulldogs will take on Sacred Heart and look to even out their NEC record in Fairfield, Conn. at 3:30 p.m.