Francis, Dobbs record double-doubles

Bulldogs fight hard in Brooklyn, fall to Terriers, 72-61, in season finale

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Despite double-double performances from freshman Alex Francis (Harlem, N.Y.) and sophomore Frankie Dobbs (Berea, Ohio), the Bryant University men's basketball team fell to Northeast Conference foe St. Francis (NY), 72-61, in the team's season finale Saturday at the Pope Physical Education Center.

Dobbs controlled the offense with 12 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists while Francis finished with a game-high 25 points and 10 boards for his eighth double-double of the season.  Senior Cecil Gresham (Bloomfield, Conn.) added 14 points on 4-for-8 shooting from the floor. As a team, the Bulldogs came back strong in the second half, shooting 68.4 percent in the frame after just 19.2 percent in the opening 20 minutes.

Bryant finished the season 9-21 overall and 7-11 in conference play while St. Francis ended at 15-14 and 10-8 in the NEC.     

The two teams played fairly even in the opening four minutes of the contest as a floater by Corey Maynard (Adelaide, Australia) pulled the Bulldogs within two, 8-6, but the home side went on to score then next eleven points, capped by a 3-pointer from Ricky Cadell for the 19-6 lead with 7:58 remaining. Dobbs ended Bryant's 8:53 scoring drought with a pair of free throws to trim the lead to eleven until Travis Nichols netted a trey on the next possession to push the lead up to 24-10 at the 5:15 mark.

The Bulldogs began to hit more shots in the final five minutes of the stanza, highlighted by a 3-pointer from Gresham to keep within eleven, but the Terriers would go on to lead 33-19 at intermission.

Francis paced the Bulldogs with eight points and seven rebounds in the opening 20 minutes while Nichols led the Terriers with 10 points on 4-for-5 from the field.

Bryant opened the second half with some noise as Francis threw down an alley-oop on a feed from Maynard, starting a 6-2 stretch to pull within ten with 18:08 remaining.

After St. Francis went up by 13 on an Akeem Bennett trey, Bryant answered with an 8-0 run, headlined by back-to-back 3-pointers from Maynard and Gresham to pull within five, 40-35, at the 14:50 mark.    

Slowly but surely, the Bulldogs chipped away over the course of the half until they broke through for a 7-0 run as a Francis layup brought the visitors within two, 54-52, but Cadell followed with a 3-pointer to push the Terriers back up, 57-52, with 4:00 to play. Bryant managed to trim the lead down to three over the final four minutes but it was not enough to complete the comeback, falling 72-61 in the season finale.