Starks scores 100th point of season in Bulldog victory; Bryant tops UVM, 87-64, in home opener

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The nation's leading scorer didn't disappoint in the home opener for the Bryant University men's basketball team, as junior guard Dyami Starks (Duluth, Minn.) reached the 100-point mark just three games into the young 2013-14 season to lead the Bulldogs past America East-favorite the University of Vermont, 87-64, Saturday night at the Chace Athletic Center.

Starks scored 30 points to pace the contest, going 9-for-19 from the floor with four 3-pointers and an 8-of-10 mark from the free throw line. Senior forward Alex Francis (Harlem, N.Y.) also had a big day for the Bulldogs (2-1), scoring 22 points (9-14) with nine boards and a pair of blocks. Junior Joe O'Shea (Burlington, Vt.) posted a season-best 15 points while senior point guard Corey Maynard (Adelaide, Australia) dished out a career-high 10 assists to compliment eight rebounds and six points.

Vermont (1-2) saw 13 points from Clancy Rugg and 12 from both Luke Apfeld and Sandro Carissimo. Brian Voelkel paced the game with 10 rebounds and handed out a team-best seven assists. Apfeld scored all 12 points in the opening frame.

Entering the second frame with just a five-point advantage after a tight first half, the Bulldogs exploded after the break, outscoring their visitors, 50-32, in the final 20 minutes. A Francis dunk less than five minutes into the second frame kicked things off for the Black and Gold, giving the home side a 49-42 advantage.

Two-straight Catamount turnovers forced by Starks and O'Shea led to five points and a 59-47 lead with 12 minutes still to play, and the hosts would take a 64-47 advantage following a Starks triple and Francis dunk on back-to-back plays as the stanza approached the midway point.

Bryant's lead would hit 20 points with nine to go on a jumper by Curtis Oakley (South Euclid, Ohio), who tied his career high with 10 points on the night, and the teams would trade baskets over the next six minutes to keep the margin in the high double digits for the Black and Gold.

A Starks layup with 2:16 on the clock pushed the lead to 84-62 and marked the sharpshooter's 100th point of the season, as he became the first player in NEC history to hit the mark in the season's first three contests.

Bryant's defense would hold strong, and a deep O'Shea triple would give the Bulldogs their biggest lead of the night inside the final minute, 87-62, en route to the 87-64 final margin.

The first half saw Starks start off with the same hot hand he's had since the season opener, scoring Bryant's first eight points and starting the contest 3-for-4 from the field. Apfeld did the same for his Catamount counterparts, doing the majority of the early scoring for Vermont with 12 of the team's first 16 points to keep the score tight through the opening 10 minutes of play.

A jumper from O'Shea at the 16:23 mark gave the Bulldogs a lead they would hold onto for the remainder of the half, building their advantage to as many as nine points, 30-21, with an O'Shea layup with less than eight to play in the frame.

The lead would hover around the nine-point mark over the next two minutes until the Catamounts scored four to cut the deficit to 34-29 with 4:46 remaining. The five-point margin would stick through the halftime break, as the Black and Gold took a 37-32 edge into the locker room.

Bryant would finish the game shooting better than 55 percent for the second-straight contest while converting at a 41.2 percent clip from beyond the arc and hitting 22-of-29 from the charity stripe. Vermont posted a 44.4 shooting clip, going just 4-for-15 from long range and 12-of-20 from the line. The Bulldogs edged the Catamounts on the glass, 34-30, and posted four blocks to the visitors' two.

The Bulldogs won't have long to celebrate the victory, however, as the team heads to one of its toughest tests of the season in regional foe and NCAA tournament darling Harvard for a midweek matchup. Bryant will take on the Crimson – who are receiving votes in both national polls – in Cambridge, Mass., Wednesday at 7 p.m.