Bulldogs host Big Green Saturday (1p)

BULLDOGS BACK TO BUSINESS, SET TO HOST DARTMOUTH AT HOME SATURDAY AFTERNOON (1 P.M.)

FULL GAME NOTES
Watch: NECFrontRow.com
Listen: WOON 1240AM or bryantbulldogs.com
Live Stats: bryantbulldogs.com
Follow along on Twitter: @BryantAthletics

THE PARTICULARS
The Bulldogs return from an 11-day break for final exams to host Dartmouth College at the Chace Athletic Center for the first time in the young series. This final pre-holiday contest tips off at 1:00 p.m. and can be seen live on NECFrontRow.com.

THE SERIES
The Bulldogs and the Big Green have faced off just once before, with Dartmouth taking a slim 66-62 victory on its home court last November. Current Bulldogs Alex Francis (14 points), Corey Maynard (11), Frankie Dobbs (12) and Raphael Jordan (10) all recorded double-digit points in the outing.

SCOUTING THE BIG GREEN
Gabas Maldunas leads Dartmouth with 12.2 points per game and a team-high 6.9 rebounds and is one of two players averaging in double figures. Alex Mitola joins him with 10.9 points per outing, while Jvonte Brooks pulls in 6.3 boards per contest to compliment 7.4 points per game. Maldunas's 10 blocks and 14 steals are also team bests, and Mitola has dished out a side-high 20 assists on the year. Maldunas, Mitola, Brooks and John Golden (9.9 ppg, 2.3 rpg) are all nine-game starters for the Big Green, who are shooting 35.1 percent from the floor as a unit with a .276 mark from long range. Dartmouth pulls in 34.6 rebounds per game but enters Smithfield on a four-game losing streak with a 2-7 overall record.LAST TIME AGAINST DARTMOUTHFour Bulldogs recorded double-digit points and Bryant shot 46.5 percent from the field, but with a one-point lead entering the final minute of play, Dartmouth converted its free throws down the stretch to edge out its visitors, 66-62, at Leede Arena in Hanover, N.H., Nov. 19, 2011. Down 12 early in the second half, the Bulldog defense made a stand to keep the Big Green off the board for more than three minutes, allowing Bryant to cut the deficit to seven. The Black and Gold would continue to chip away at the hosts lead, cutting the gap to four on an Alex Francis dunk with 1:51 to play and then to just one, 60-59, on a Corey Maynard trifecta 46 seconds later, but the Bulldogs couldn't complete the comeback, sending the Big Green to the line eight times in the final 25 seconds. The now-graduated R.J. Griffin nailed seven 3-pointers for Dartmouth for a game-high 29 points while Gabas Maldunas recorded the only double-double of the day with 15 points and a contest-best 10 rebounds.

BRYANT vs. THE IVY LEAGUE
Saturday's matchup marks the last of three contests against members of the Ivy League in 2012-13. The Bulldogs are 1-1 against the conference this season, having beaten Brown for the first time in program history, 68-61, Nov. 21 on the road before falling to Yale on a buzzerbeater, 64-62, at home Dec. 5. All-time, Bryant is 2-16 against the Ancient Eight in its short Division I history, having matched up against Columbia (0-3), Brown (1-4), Cornell (0-2), Harvard (0-2), Yale (1-4) and Saturday's opponent, Dartmouth (0-1) over the last four-plus seasons. In the history of the program, the Bulldogs are just 2-23 against Ivy League opponents, most frequently matching up with intrastate rival Brown (1-11).

MISSING DOBBS
Fifth-year senior and starting point guard Frankie Dobbs missed the first game of his collegiate career last time out when the Bulldogs travelled to Navy Dec. 10. Dobbs averages 36.8 minutes per game in his three seasons as a Bulldog after transferring from Ohio University after his freshman year and averages 12.7 points per game donning the Black and Gold. This season, Dobbs ranks in the Northeast Conference's top 20 in scoring, contributing 11.4 points per game, ranks 11th in minutes played (33.50/game), 10th in assists (3.75/game) and second in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.50).

BAZOOKA JOE
Sophomore transfer Joe O'Shea has turned it on against the military academies in 2012-13. O'Shea set new career highs both times the Bulldogs have matched up against a service academy, first exploding for new career marks in points (12), rebounds (6), assists (3), field goals (4), free throws made (3), free throws attempted (4) and minutes (34) at home against Army Dec. 1, and then resetting a majority of those same marks last time out at the U.S. Naval Academy. Against the Mids, O'Shea scored a game-high and career-best 15 points, also setting new personal bests in rebounds (7), 3-pointers made (2), free throws made (5) and free throws attempted (6) while tying his career high for field goals made (4). O'Shea's second triple of the night against Navy marked his 13th point of the game, setting a new career high just 15:24 into the tilt. All-in-all, against U.S. Service Academies, O'Shea is averaging 13.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game and is shooting an impressive 72.7 percent from the floor. He is .500 from beyond the arc (3-6) and 8-of-10 from the charity stripe while averaging 32.5 minutes per outing. In Bryant's seven other games against non-military institutions, O'Shea's average dips to just 3.9 points and 3.3 rebounds per game with a .286 shot percentage.

FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE
Russian-born senior forward Vlad Kondratyev saw his best game of the season Dec. 10 against the Midshipmen, scoring a season-best 11 points with a season- and game-high nine rebounds, six of them coming on the offensive glass. Kondratyev went 5-for-8 from the field in a strong shooting performance and recorded seven of the team's 13 second chance points on his own. His 11-point performance also pushed him across the 500-point threshold on his collegiate career (501).

FOUR SCORE
For the second time this season — and the second time in two tries against the service academies in 2012-13 — four different Bulldogs scored double-figure points Dec. 10 against Navy. Sophomore guard Joe O'Shea led the way with 15 points, with Corey Maynard adding 13, Vlad Kondratyev contributing 11 and Alex Francis chipping in 10. Against Army Dec. 1, it was sophomore guard Dyami Starks who recorded the game high with 20, while senior point guard Frankie Dobbs added a season-best 19. Francis (17) and O'Shea (12) also recorded double-digit points in the outing.

BULLDOGS INK FOUR-MAN CLASS OF 2017
Head coach Tim O'Shea has announced the signing of four student-athletes to National Letters of Intent to suit up for the Bryant University men's basketball team in 2013-14. Guards Daniel Garvin (Bethel, Conn./Bethel), Bosko Kostur (Melbourne, Australia/Hallam Senior College) and Justin Brickman (San Antonio, Texas/Tom Clark), and forward Ellis Williams (Columbus, Ohio/Columbus South) will join the program for its sixth year of Division I competition and second with full NCAA eligibility.

DAYTIME DOMINANCE
The Bulldogs have shown their preference for day games in 2012-13. Bryant is a perfect 4-0 in contests with start times before 5 p.m. but just 1-4 in night games on the year.

HAPPY 100TH!
After scoring 22 and 19 points, respectively, against Yale Dec. 5, sophomore guard Dyami Starks and junior forward Alex Francis each eclipsed the 100-point mark in just the seventh game of the 2012-13 season. Starks passed the 150-point mark just five days later against Navy on Dec. 10 and enters Saturday's contest with 154 total points on the year.

ALMOST ANNIVERSARIES
Coach Tim O'Shea approaches his 150th-career win as a head coach and enters Saturday's contest with 145. Meanwhile, the Bryant men's basketball program sits just two wins away from its 650th all time.

TICKET TO RIDE
Single-game and season ticket packages are still available for the 2012-13 men's and women's basketball seasons. Fans can purchase tickets online at www.bryantbulldogs.com/tickets or by calling the Bryant Athletics Ticket Office at 401-519-TIXX.

CAN'T MAKE IT TO THE GAME?
Bryant University Athletics and the Northeast Conference have partnered with Pack Network to create NEC Front Row, the home for all NEC men's and women's basketball broadcasts in 2012-13. NEC Front Row brings viewers an industry-leading video streaming solution for more than 100 Bryant University home contests during the 2012-13 athletic seasons, including live, free-of-charge broadcasts of all 15 Bulldog home men's basketball games. Live event productions include multiple camera angles, an on-screen scoreboard and state-of-the-art graphics. Visit www.necfrontrow.com for more information and a schedule of events.

BRYANT HOOPS ON WOON RADIO
For the fifth-consecutive season, all Bryant University basketball home games and select road contests can be heard LIVE on WOON 1240 AM. Veteran sportscaster Jon Wallach of 98.5 FM The Sports Hub Boston returns to call the action as the voice of the Bulldogs, alongside color analyst Tristan Hobbes.

UP NEXT
The Bulldogs return to the hardwood Saturday, Dec. 29, travelling to Bethlehem, Pa., to visit Lehigh University for a 7:00 p.m. matchup.