BULLDOGS SET PROGRAM’S DI POINT RECORD, TOP RIVAL CENTRAL CONNECTICUT, 85-80, IN OVERTIME

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Down by one with 58 seconds left in overtime, Cecil Gresham (Bloomfield, Conn.) faced up a defender one-on-one and hit a fadeaway bank shot to give the Bryant University men's basketball team the late lead as the Bulldogs went on to top Central Connecticut, 85-80, to wrap up the Northeast Conference's Rivalry Week Saturday afternoon at the Chace Athletic Center.

Bryant (9-17, 7-7 NEC) led the rival Blue Devils (17-8, 10-4) the entire second half and much of the first, but with 19 seconds left in regulation, Central Connecticut would make its move to erase all that, as a Ken Horton putback after an offensive rebound cut the Bulldog advantage to just three, 74-71.

Unable to break the press on its next possession, Bryant threw the ball out of bounds with 6.4 seconds to play, setting up the Blue Devils' final chance to tie the game. The turnover allowed Shemik Thompson to race down the court and drill a 3-pointer from the left corner with less than a second left on the clock, tying the game at 74-74 – the closest CCSU had gotten to a lead since the 6:02 mark of the first half – and sending the game into overtime.

After Alex Francis (Harlem, N.Y.) opened overtime with an early basket, Central Connecticut reeled off six-straight points to take the 80-76 lead. Down by four with 1:29 remaining, Frankie Dobbs (Berea, Ohio) stepped back and drained a 3-pointer to cut the lead to one and set up Gresham's go-ahead shot. With an 81-80 edge, the Bulldog defense clamped down the rest of the way, as Dobbs drew a pair of fouls and nailed three clutch free throws for the 85-80 victory.

The win avenged a loss to the Blue Devils just three days earlier and marked the program's highest point total in the Division I era. The victory also marked Bryant's first win over CCSU at the DI level and the team's first overtime win in three tries this season.

Individually, Gresham led the way offensively with 27 points and a career-high seven assists. Dobbs added 19 and Corey Maynard (Adelaide, Australia) chipped in with a career-high 16 points off 6-of-9 shooting. Francis netted 10 points and 11 boards for his seventh double-double of the season and second in as many games. As a team, the Bulldogs shot 50.9 percent off 29-for-57 shooting from the floor.

The Blue Devils were led offensively by Horton's game-high 27 points and game-best 16 rebounds, while Thompson and Robby Ptacek added 17 and 11, respectively.

After an opening 3-pointer from Horton, the Bulldogs answered with a trey from Dobbs and back-to-back jumpers from Gresham for the early 7-0 run, but the Blue Devils came right back with two Horton layups to knot the game at 7-7 at the 15:51 mark.

Bryant pulled out in front on a Gresham three, but Central Connecticut responded with a 10-0 run to take a seven-point advantage, 17-10. While the visitors continued to feed Horton down low, the next four Bulldog baskets were all from beyond the arc, as Barry Latham (Taunton, Mass.) knocked down a trey to trim the Blue Devil lead to one, 23-22, with 8:25 remaining.

The long range attack continued for the Bulldogs, who would take over the lead for good through the end of regulation when Maynard drained a three to give the home side a 27-26 edge and kick off a 9-2 run for a 33-28 advantage with 3:58 remaining. The visitors chipped away at the lead in the final minutes, but Dobbs hit a floater at the buzzer to put the home side in front, 41-34, at the halftime break.

The combination of Gresham and Dobbs took care of the scoring for Bryant to start the second stanza, as the duo netted 11 points including a trey each, increasing the Bulldog lead to 52-34 at the 16:52 mark. From there, the Blue Devils found success in the lane, either converting lay-ins or getting to the charity stripe, as a 10-2 run trimmed the lead to 54-48 with 13:57 left to play.

The Blue Devils continued to pressure the home side over the next 12 minutes until a trio of 3-pointers by Shemik Thompson cut the home team's advantage down to four, 73-69, with just 48 seconds remaining. After a Maynard free throw, Horton followed up a Thompson missed 3-pointer to put back the rebound to close the deficit to three, 74-71, setting up Thompson's overtime-forcing triple.

The Black and Gold return to the court on Thursday, Feb. 17 when they play host to Quinnipiac at 7:00 p.m.