Bulldogs wrap up road trip at CCSU Thursday night

FULL GAME NOTES
Watch: NECfrontrow.com
Listen: WOON 1240 AM
Live Stats: bryantbulldogs.com
Follow along on Twitter: @BryantGameday

THE PARTICULARS
Bryant wraps up a three-game roadtrip Thursday evening, traveling to New Britain, Conn., for a 7 p.m. tipoff against Central Connecticut State University.

THE SERIES
Thursday's game marks the 23rd matchup between the Bulldogs and the Blue Devils, dating back to the 1973-74  season when CCSU kicked off the series with an 89-87 win at home. Central Connecticut currently holds a 13-9 advantage in the all-time series, though the Bulldogs swept the 2012-13 season series, 2-0. Of the teams' 22 previous matchups, 15 came at the Division II level (from the 1973-74 season through the 1987-88 campaign), and the Bulldogs are just 3-6 against CCSU in nine Division I meetings. Bryant is 4-7 all-time against the Blue Devils at Derick Gym, beating Central Connecticut on its home court for the first time in the DI era last season. CCSU owns a 6-4 edge in games played at the Chace Athletic Center.

SCOUTING THE BLUE DEVILS
Unanimous preseason all-conference guard Kyle Vinales paces CCSU with 17.4 points per game, leading three Blue Devils to average double figures. Faronte Drakeford is second on the side in both points (13.7) and rebounds (5.5), with Malcolm McMillan adding 11.3 points and 3.4 assists per contest. As a team, CCSU averages 69.1 points and 34.2 rebounds per outing and is coming off a huge upset victory over Robert Morris on the road, 74-73.

BRYANT vs. THE NORTHEAST CONFERENCE
The Bulldogs are 6-2 against the Northeast Conference in 2013-14 with a 27-51 record (.346) against current NEC members since joining the Division I ranks. All-time against current conference institutions, the Bulldog basketball program is 41-68 (.376), having most frequently faced off against regional rival Sacred Heart (12-16). Bryant went 12-6 against league opponents last season, finishing tied for second in the regular-season standings to earn a No. 4 seed in the 2013 NEC Tournament.

SECOND TO ONE
There have been some great one-two punches in NEC basketball in recent years, but over the last two years, senior forward Alex Francis and junior guard Dyami Starks take a back seat to no one. In fact, Starks (20.1) and Francis (19.7) are currently tied with Louisiana Lafayette's Elfrid Payton and Shawn Long as the second-highest scoring duo in the country, combining for 39.8 points per game this season. Only VMI's QJ Peterson and Rodney Glasgow average more in tandem, scoring just 0.4 points per game more than Bryant's top duo (40.2).

Starks and Francis could go down as the NEC's highest scoring duo since LIU Brooklyn Charles Jones (29.0) and Mike Campbell (19.7) combined for 48.7 points per game in 1997-98. The St. Francis Brooklyn duo of Steven Howard (20.2) and Richy Dominguez (19.1) totaled 39.5 points per outing and ranked one-two in the NEC in scoring in 2000-01. Starks currently ranks first in the league and Francis third in point production.

20-20 VISION
For the seventh time this season, two Bulldogs finished the game with 20 or more points Sunday afternoon in a 76-67 victory over Sacred Heart. Senior forward Alex Francis and junior guard Dyami Starks have been the pair who achieved the feat on five of those occasions, and Sunday was no different, with Francis scoring 20 and Starks registering a game-best 24 points.

FRANCIS FANTASTIC
Bulldog standout Alex Francis has been on fire as of late. After a 20-point performance at Sacred Heart Sunday afternoon, the senior forward has now scored 20 or more points in eight of the last nine contests, including six straight from Dec. 30 through Jan. 23.

Francis has posted four double-doubles over the last six contests and has six such performances on the year so far, totalling 32 on his Bulldog career. In Northeast Conference play, the senior leads the league with 24.3 points and 9.4 rebounds each time out while ranking second with 63.7 percent shooting from the floor. He has a pair of 30-point outings on the year as well.

FOR THE 100TH TIME...
Last Thursday against Robert Morris, starting guard Corey Maynard appeared in the 100th game of his career, joining teammates Alex Francis (Dec. 7 against North Dakota State) and Claybrin McMath (Dec. 30 against Lehigh) in reaching the benchmark. Francis is just a single nod shy of the 100th carer start as well.

THE BEST OF THE BEST
Having joined the 1,000-point club last season, senior forward Alex Francis is just 58 points away from joining an even greater echelon of scorers. Francis — who averages 19.7 points per game so far this season — is on pace to score his 2,000th point Feb. 13 at Mount St. Mary's. The senior would become just the third player to cross the threshold in the history of Bryant basketball, joining only Tom Smile (2,390 from 1963-67) and Ernie DeWitt (2,239 from 1977-81), and would be the first to do so at the Division I level. Currently, there are just four active DI players in the nation with 2,000 points — Creighton's Doug McDermott, Oakland's Travis Bader, Delaware's Devon Saddler and Loyola Marymount's Anthony Ireland.

WELCOME TO THE CLUB
With a layup just 49 seconds into the second half Jan. 23 against LIU Brooklyn, junior guard Dyami Starks became the 34th player in program history to reach the 1,000 point threshold. He also becomes the third player in the last two seasons to accomplish the feat. Current senior Alex Francis (1942 points) and Director of Operations Frankie Dobbs (1232 points) each joined the club in 2012-13.

Senior point guard Corey Maynard is knocking on the door as well, needing just 70 more points for 1,000 in his career. Maynard, who is currently averaging 13.3 points per game, needs to average just 8.8 points each time out to reach the goal by the conclusion of the 2013-14 regular season.

FRANCHISE FRANCIS: IN THE NCAA RANKINGS
In the latest NCAA rankings, Bryant senior forward Alex Francis currently sits among the top active NCAA Division I players in numerous categories. As of February 2, the senior is ranked second in career field goals (currently 735), sixth in total points (1,942), sixth in career double-doubles (32), seventh in total rebounds (903), 12th in free throws made (459), 16th in career scoring average (17.0 ppg) and 24th in rebounding average (7.9). He is one of just eight active players to have 1,500 points and 750 rebounds to his name. Francis also ranks 16th in field goal percentage this season (.589) and 35th in points per game (19.7).

FRANCHISE FRANCIS: IN THE NEC RANKINGS
Bryant senior forward Alex Francis reached yet another plateau on his march up the NEC career scoring chart, moving up to No. 9 all-time with 1,942 career points and passing his first NEC Hall of Famer (FDU's Desi Wilson, 1,902 points). The senior forward needs just four more points to take over the No. 8 spot on the charts and will need to cross over the 2,000-point threshold to make it into the top 5. But with eight games remaining in the regular season and any postseason games thereafter, Francis is well on his to becoming the sixth player in league annals to crack that 2,000-point barrier.

Francis climbs to 11th on the league's all-time rebounding list (903) and has a chance to become the first player in conference history to finish with 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds. He needs 13 boards to break into the top 10.

More Francis/NEC Highlights...
» Francis has the chance to become the first player in conference annals to finish in the top-10 in both points and rebounds.

» Francis is one of just four players in NEC history to rank in the top 20 in both scoring and rebounding in his career, joining the likes of CCSU's Ken Horton, LIU's Jamal Olasewere and Marist's Rik Smits.

» Francis is one of just 13 players in NEC history to reach 1,500 points and 750 rebounds in his career, and one of just five players in the league annals to reach 1,700 points and 800 boards.

» Francis currently occupies spots in the NEC top-3 in scoring (19.7, third), rebounding (7.6, third) and field goal percentage (.589, 1st).

FRANCHISE FRANCIS: IN THE BRYANT RANKINGS
With eight regular-season games still to play, senior forward Alex Francis is already seated among the greatest scorers and rebounders the program has ever seen. His 24-point performance Jan. 23 against LIU Brooklyn vaulted him into third on the all-time scoring list, however Francis would need 297 more points to move up any farther in the rankings.

Francis enters Thursday's matchup ranked fourth on the rebounding charts with 903 in his career after passing Jason Noel with his 11 rebounds on Jan. 23. He needs 84 more to reach third all time. He also ranks in the program's top-10 in scoring average, field goals, field goal percentage, free throws made and rebounding average.

BRYANT HOOPS ON WOON RADIO
For the sixth-consecutive season, all Bryant University basketball home games and select road contests can be heard LIVE on WOON 1240 AM and online at bryantbulldogs.com. 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
Bryant hosts the first of two-straight games against Mount St. Mary's Saturday afternoon in the second half of a men's/women's NEC doubleheader. Tipoff is slated for 4:00 p.m.