Bulldogs look for sweep at Mount Thursday

FULL GAME NOTES
Watch: NECfrontrow.com
Live Stats: bryantbulldogs.com

THE PARTICULARS
Bryant is back on the road for the weekend set and will travel to Emmitsburg, Md., for the second of back-to-back matchups against Mount St. Mary's Thursday at 7 p.m. The Bulldogs won the series opener at home Saturday afternoon, 78-75.

THE SERIES
Mount St. Mary's has won eight of 11 all-time meetings between these two programs, but the teams are 2-2 in the last four outings after Bryant's three-point home victory Saturday. All three of the Bulldogs' victories over the Mount have come at the Chace Athletic Center, and nine of the 11 all-time tilts have come at the Division I level, with the series beginning on Dec. 28, 1982 in Emmitsburg, Md.

SCOUTING THE MOUNT
Mount St. Mary's three top scorers all performed well against the Bulldogs the first time around, with leading scorer Julian Norfleet (18.3 ppg) scoring 14 while dishing out six assists. Rashad Whack (16.9 ppg) led all Mount scorers with 21 points and was hot from 3-point range, converting 6-of-8 attempts from downtown. Taylor Danaher, who averages just 6.5 points and 5.2 rebounds on the season, had a breakout game of his own with the team's only double-double, finishing the day with 19 points and a game-best 12 rebounds. As a team, Mount St. Mary's averages 76.4 points per game but allows 80.9 and is shooting at a 43.5 percent clip from the field.

BRYANT vs. THE NORTHEAST CONFERENCE
The Bulldogs are 8-2 against the Northeast Conference in 2013-14 with a 29-51 record (.363) against current NEC members since joining the Division I ranks. All-time against current conference institutions, the Bulldog basketball program is 43-68 (.387), 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.

FRANCIS SECURES BRYANT'S SIXTH PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONOR
Senior forward Alex Francis is doing everything in his power to finish his star-studded Bryant career on a high note. The senior forward has been unstoppable in NEC play, and last week was no different in leading the Bulldogs to a pair of key wins. Francis averaged 22.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, 2.0 steals and shot 61.3 percent from the field as Bryant maintained a firm hold on second place with an 8-2 league record. He posted his seventh double-double of the season (33rd of his career) with 20 points and 10 rebounds in a 79-68 win at CCSU on Thursday. Two days later, he finished with a game-high 25 points and pulled down nine boards as the Bulldogs held off Mount St. Mary's, 78-75, at the Chace Athletic Center. The senior forward has now scored 20 or more points in 10 of the last 11 games.

In NEC play, Francis leads the conference with 23.8 ppg, 9.4 rpg and 64.1 percent shooting from the field. Overall, he currently occupies spots in the NEC top-10 in scoring (19.9, second), rebounding (7.8, third) and field goal percentage (.591, 1st).

HISTORY IN THE MAKING
In what has already been a season filled with milestones, senior forward Alex Francis still isn't satisfied. The reigning NEC Player of the Week put himself in a class all this own last week and is within reach of yet another historic height. Now with 1,987 career points and 922 career rebounds, Francis enters the NEC all-time top-10 in both points (6th) and rebounds (10th),  becoming the first player in NEC history to achieve a top-10 ranking in both career categories. He also has the potential to become the first player in NEC history to score 2,000 points and pull down 1,000 rebounds in a career and is the NEC's scoring and rebounding leader among all active players on the league circuit.

And his next milestone is right within reach. Francis needs just 13 points to reach 2,000 for his career. He would become just the sixth player in NEC history to reach the mark and just the third in program annals, joining only Tom Smile (2,390 from 1963-67) and Ernie DeWitt (2,239 from 1977-81). 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.

FRANCIS FANTASTIC
Bulldog standout Alex Francis has been on fire as of late. After a 25-point performance against Mount St. Mary's Saturday afternoon, the senior forward has now scored 20 or more points in 10 of the last 11 contests, including six straight from Dec. 30 through Jan. 23. He has five double-doubles in the last eight games with seven such performances on the year so far, totalling 33 on his Bulldog career. Francis also hit a pair of career milestones against the Mount, snagging his 100th steal and netting his 750th career field goal.

POTENT PAIR
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 (19.8) and Francis (19.9) are currently the fifth-highest scoring duo in the country, combining for 39.7 points per game this season. Only pairs from Oral Roberts (40.7), Texas Southern (40.4), VMI (40.3) and Louisiana Lafayette (40.0) average more in tandem.

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. Francis currently ranks second in the league and Starks third in point production.

GOING STREAKING
The Bulldogs enter Knott Arena riding a three-game winning streak, their  third such streak of the season. The longest of the year was four-consecutive victories from Nov. 24 through Dec. 4 and from Jan. 16 through Jan. 25.

FEBRUARY FURY
Bryant is also 3-0 in the month of February and looks to stay perfect with its first win in Emmitsburg.

T-4
With six regular-season games to go, Bryant needs just four more victories to record the first 20-win season at the Division I level.

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 (1,987 points) and Director of Operations Frankie Dobbs (1,232 points) each joined the club in 2012-13.

Senior point guard Corey Maynard is knocking on the door as well, needing just 41 more points for 1,000 in his career. Maynard, who is currently averaging 13.4 points per game, needs to average just 6.8 points each time out to reach the goal by the conclusion of the 2013-14 regular season. He is on pace to score his 1,000th point at home against Central Connecticut on Feb. 22.

THEY'RE ON FIRE!
The Bulldogs currently rank 28th in the nation for team field goal percentage, converting at a 47.8 percent clip as a unit from the hardwood.

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 9, the senior is ranked second in career field goals (currently 754), fifth in total points (1,987), seventh in career double-doubles (33), sixth in total rebounds (922), 12th in free throws made (466), 15th in career scoring average (17.1 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 17th in field goal percentage this season (.591) and 30th in points per game (19.9).

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. 6 all-time with 1,987 career points and passing his third NEC Hall of Famer (FDU's Desi Wilson, Marist's Rik Smits, RMU's Myron Walker). The senior forward will now need to cross over the 2,000-point threshold to make it into the top 5 and is 93 points shy of taking over fifth from 2013 Sacred Heart grad Shane Gibson. Francis also moves up to 10th on the league's all-time rebounding list (922).

More Francis/NEC Highlights...
» With last week's effort, Francis became the first player in conference history to rank in the top-10 in both points and boards.

» 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 (19.9, second), rebounding (7.8, third) and field goal percentage (.591, 1st).

FRANCHISE FRANCIS: IN THE BRYANT RANKINGS
With six 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 252 more points to move up any farther in the rankings.

Francis enters Thursday's matchup ranked fourth on the rebounding charts with 922 in his career after passing Jason Noel with his 11 rebounds on Jan. 23. He needs 65 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.

A CONCENTRATED EFFORT
The Bulldogs have certainly added depth in 2013-14, but the Bryant bench has yet to prove it on the scoreboard. Against Division I opponents this season, just three Bulldog starters — junior Dyami Starks and seniors Alex Francis and Corey Maynard — are responsible for nearly 71 percent of Bryant's total scoring (1286 of 1821 points). If you go outside the starting lineup, Bryant's bench has contributed just 229 points so far this season (12.6 percent).

#6THFAN
Bryant has the best fans in the NCAA. Now, it's time to prove it. The NCAA's 6th Fan contest is a nationwide online competition that will determine which Division I school has the most pride and the most supportive fans. Fans can be a part of the action and help Bryant earn over $100,000 in general scholarship contributions by voting for the Bulldogs once a day every day at ncaa.com/6thFan now until Feb. 16. Fans can also vote on Twitter by tweeting or retweeting the hashtags #6thFan and #BRYANT (both hashtags must appear for vote to count). The contest also includes prizes for individual fans, including an iPad Air and an all-expense paid trip to the 2015 Men's Final Four in North Texas April 5-7.

UP NEXT
Bryant road trips to Staten Island to take on Wagner Sunday at 12 p.m. in a game that will be carried live on CBS Sports Network.