Bryant hosts CCSU Saturday for Senior Day

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

THE PARTICULARS
The Bryant University men's basketball team welcomes Central Connecticut State University to the Chace Athletic Center Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. in Game 2 of a Bryant Basketball doubleheader. Saturday marks the final regular-season home game for the Bulldogs.

THE SERIES
Saturday marks the 24th meeting between the Bulldogs and the Blue Devils, with Central Connecticut holding a 13-10 advantage in the all-time series. Bryant enters the weekend showdown riding a three-game win streak against CCSU, picking up a pair of wins last year and 79-68 victory earlier this season.

SCOUTING THE BLUE DEVILS
Central Connecticut enters Saturday's contest with a 9-17 overall record, 5-8 against Northeast Conference opponents. Winners of three of their last four, the Blue Devils currently hold the 8th and final spot in the NEC Tournament standings. After missing an extended stretch in the middle of the season due to injury, junior guard Kyle Vinales returned to the CCSU lineup just in time to help the Blue Devils push toward a spot in the NEC Tourney. Vinales puts up 17.2 points, 3.7 assists and 1.4 steals per game, while classmate Faronte Drakeford ranks second on the team in scoring with 13 ppg. Senior guard Malcolm McMillian rounds out the double-digit scorers for CCSU with 11.5 ppg, while sophomore big man Brandon Peel chips in six points and six rebounds per game.

BRYANT vs. THE NORTHEAST CONFERENCE
The Bulldogs are 8-4 against the Northeast Conference in 2013-14 with a 29-53 record (.354) against current NEC members since joining the Division I ranks. All-time against current conference institutions, the Bulldog basketball program is 43-70 (.381). 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.

BULLDOGS CLINCH NEC TOURNAMENT BERTH
Despite a loss to FDU Thursday night, Bryant clinched a spot in the 2014 Northeast Conference Tournament for the second-straight season. Bryant is currently tied for second with Wagner, who also clinched a playoff spot, as did league-leader Robert Morris is fourth-place Mount St. Mary's.

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, recording the 2,000th point of his collegiate career at Wagner Feb. 16. 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, 2,020) and career rebounds (8th, 940).

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 Saturday'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 13 contests, including his five most recent outings prior to Thursday vs. FDU. He has six double-doubles in the last 10 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 (19.3) and Francis (19.6) are currently tied as the fifth-highest scoring duo in the country, combining for 38.9 points per game this season. Only pairs from Oral Roberts (40.8), Auburn (39.6), VMI (39.4) and Louisiana-Lafayette (39.1) 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.

T-4
With four regular-season games and at least one postseason contest to go, Bryant needs 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 (2,020 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 14 more points for 1,000 in his career.

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 20, the senior is ranked second in career field goals (currently 765), sixth in total points (2,020), fifth in career double-doubles (34), seventh in total rebounds (940), 14th in free throws made (477), 15th in career scoring average (17.1 ppg) and 26th 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 19th in field goal percentage this season (.584) and is tied for 36th in points per game (19.6).

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 2,020 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 60 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 (940).

Francis currently occupies spots in the NEC top-3 in scoring (19.6, second), rebounding (7.9, third) and field goal percentage (.584, 1st).

FRANCHISE FRANCIS: IN THE BRYANT RANKINGS
With four 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 219 more points to move up any farther in the rankings.

Francis enters Thursday's matchup ranked fourth on the rebounding charts with 940 in his career after passing Jason Noel with his 11 rebounds on Jan. 23. He needs 47 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 71 percent of Bryant's total scoring (1373 of 1934 points). If you go outside the starting lineup, Bryant's bench has contributed just 240 points so far this season (12.4 percent).

LIGHTS, CAMERA, VICTORY
The Bulldogs are 4-0 this season in games broadcast by Cox Sports and the Ocean State Network.

BULLDOGS ANNOUNCE FIVE-GAME PARTNERSHIP WITH OSN
With six men's basketball games already scheduled for national TV, Bryant University Athletics announced this week that five more will be featured locally on Cox Sports and the Ocean State Network in 2013-14. In partnering with Cox Communications, the Bulldogs bring their exciting brand of basketball into the homes of viewers throughout Rhode Island and eastern Connecticut, as well as across the country with CoxSportsOnline.com. Fans will have the opportunity to witness one of the strongest programs in the state playing in five home games, backed by the best home fans in the Northeast Conference.

All five games will be broadcast LIVE in High Definition on Cox Sports and the Ocean State Network and streamed online at coxsportsonline.com and necfrontrow.com. Mike Mancuso will handle the play-by-play duties and Chris Disano will serve as the color analyst. The five-game package kicks off on Saturday, Dec. 14 as the Black and Gold host Navy at 12:30 p.m.

Bryant Basketball on OSN
Dec. 14 vs. Navy (W, 90-80 OT)
Dec. 30 vs. Lehigh (W, 70-68)
Jan. 16 vs. Sacred Heart (W, 85-70)
Jan. 25 vs. St. Francis Brooklyn (W, 87-79)
Feb. 22 vs. Central Connecticut (4:05 p.m.)

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 hits the road for three tough contests to close out the regular season, starting with a makeup game at Mount St. Mary's Monday night (8:30 p.m.) before heading to Brooklyn, N.Y. for matchups with St. Francis and LIU later in the week.