Bryant looks for season sweep over FDU Thursday at home (7p)

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

THE PARTICULARS
Bryant enters its final homestand of the 2013-14 regular season Thursday night, hosting Fairleigh Dickinson at the Chace Athletic Center at 7:00 p.m. The Bulldogs have won four straight at home and are 10-2 this season in front of the home crowd.

THE SERIES
The Knights and the Bulldogs have faced off eight times in their history, all coming at the Division I level. The Black and Gold tied the series at 4-4 in their most recent faceoff, a decisive 95-68 win at FDU earlier this season, and Bryant will look to match that effort to sweep the season series and gain an edge in the all-time battle at home Thursday night.

SCOUTING THE KNIGHTS
FDU has recorded a number of signature wins this season despite entering the game 8-17 overall, emerging victorious over the likes of Rutgers and Seton Hall earlier this season. Sidney Sanders Jr. is leading the NEC in points per game (20.8) and steals (2.16), while dishing out a team-leading 145 assists. Mathias Seilund paces the side on the glass, pulling in 4.8 boards each time out (9.0 ppg) and is tied with Scooter Gillette in blocks with 32 on the year. As a unit, Fairleigh Dickinson shoots 42.9 percent from the floor and allows opponents 78.6 points per game off a 46.0 percent shooting clip. The Knights average 71.4 points per game on the year and average 31.1 rebounds to their opponents' 38.1 per outing.

BRYANT vs. THE NORTHEAST CONFERENCE
The Bulldogs are 8-3 against the Northeast Conference in 2013-14 with a 29-52 record (.358) against current NEC members since joining the Division I ranks. All-time against current conference institutions, the Bulldog basketball program is 43-69 (.383), 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.

HISTORY IN THE MAKING: FRANCIS SCORES 2,000TH CAREER POINT
In what has already been a season filled with milestones, senior forward Alex Francis reached yet another historic height in the Bulldogs' most recent outing, recording the 2,000th point of his collegiate career at Wagner Sunday afternoon. Francis becomes just the sixth player in NEC history to reach the 2,000-point 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). The NEC Player of the Year hopeful has put himself in a class all this own this season and is the first player in NEC history to achieve a top-10 ranking in both career points (6th, 2,013) and career rebounds (8th, 932).

And his next milestone is right within reach. Francis has the potential to become the first player in NEC history to score 2,000 points and pull down 1,000 rebounds before closing out his exceptional career. He enters Thursday's matchup as the NEC's active leader scoring and rebounding.

FRANCIS FANTASTIC
Bulldog standout Alex Francis has been on fire as of late. The senior forward has now scored 20 or more points in 11 of the last 12 contests, including his five most recent outings. He has six double-doubles in the last nine games with eight such performances on the year so far, totalling 34 on his Bulldog career.

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 (19.4) and Francis (20.1) are currently tied as the fourth-highest scoring duo in the country, combining for 39.5 points per game this season. Only pairs from Oral Roberts (40.8), Auburn (40.1) and VMI (39.8) average more in tandem, with Louisiana-Lafayette tying the Bryant set.

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.

T-4
With five regular-season games to go, Bryant needs four more victories to record the first 20-win season at the Division I level. The Bulldogs need just one more to clinch their second-consecutive NEC playoff berth.

THEY'RE ON FIRE!
The Bulldogs currently rank 24th in the nation for team field goal percentage, converting at a 47.7 percent clip as a unit.

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 (2,013 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 31 more points for 1,000 in his career. Maynard, who is currently averaging 13.2 points per game, needs to average just 6.2 points each time out to reach the goal by the conclusion of the 2013-14 regular season. He is currently on pace to score his 1,000th point on the road against Mount St. Mary's on Feb. 24.

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 17, the senior is ranked second in career field goals (currently 764), sixth in total points (2,013), fifth in career double-doubles (34), seventh in total rebounds (932), 13th in free throws made (472), 15th in career scoring average (17.2 ppg) and 27th in rebounding average (8.0). He is one of just eight active players to have 1,500 points and 750 rebounds to his name. Francis also ranks 12th in field goal percentage this season (.595) and is tied for 26th in points per game (20.1).

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 2,013 career points. He has now passed three NEC Hall of Famer in his trip up the league's all-time scoring ladder (FDU's Desi Wilson, Marist's Rik Smits, RMU's Myron Walker), and the senior forward will now look  to cross into the NEC top-5. He needs 67 more points to take sole possession of fifth from 2013 Sacred Heart grad Shane Gibson. Francis also moved up to eighth on the league's all-time rebounding list (932).

Francis currently occupies spots in the NEC top-3 in scoring (20.1, second), rebounding (7.8, third) and field goal percentage (.595, 1st).

FRANCHISE FRANCIS: IN THE BRYANT RANKINGS
With five 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 226 more points to move up any farther in the rankings.

Francis enters Thursday's matchup ranked fourth on the rebounding charts with 932 in his career after passing Jason Noel with his 11 rebounds on Jan. 23. He needs 55 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.

TICKET TO RIDE
Single-game and season ticket packages are still available for the 2013-14 Bryant University men's and women's basketball seasons. Fans can purchase tickets online at bryantbulldogs.com/tickets or by calling the Bryant Athletics Ticket Office at 401-319-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 2013-14. NEC Front Row brings viewers an industry-leading video streaming solution for more than 100 Bryant University home contests during the 2013-14 athletic seasons, including live, free-of-charge broadcasts of all Bulldog home and in-conference road men's basketball games. Live event productions include multiple camera angles, an on-screen scoreboard and state-of-the-art graphics. Visit necfrontrow.com for more information and a schedule of events.

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 closes out its regular-season home schedule Saturday afternoon, taking on Central Connecticut on Senior Day at 4 p.m.