Bulldogs top UNH, 72-63, in home opener Thursday night

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Despite the University of New Hampshire making up a 24-point halftime deficit, the Bryant University men's basketball team rallied in the final minutes to take a 72-63 victory in Thursday's home opener at the Chace Athletic Center.

The Wildcats (1-2) opened the second frame on a 35-10 run to make up a 50-26 halftime deficit and take their first lead of the contest, 61-60, with 6:14 left in the game, but eight-straight points from senior guard and leading scorer Dyami Starks (Duluth, Minn.) gave the Bulldogs (1-1) back the lead for good as the hosts finished the contest on a 12-2 run for the nine-point victory.

Starks paced the game with 19 points, while redshirt-junior Zach Chionuma (Jamesville, N.Y.), junior point guard Shane McLaughlin (Old Tappan, N.J.) and rookie forward Angus Riley (Nelson, New Zealand) each added nine. Rookie guard Hunter Ware (Powder Springs, Ga.) added eight points in his first contest in front of the home crowd. Frank Okeke paced the visitors with 13 points while five Wildcats posted double-digit points despite the loss.

The Bulldogs started off the contest hot, racing out to a 12-0 lead while keeping the Wildcats off the board for the first 5:48 of the game. That lead would become 20-5 by the 11-minute mark, while the visitors took on six fouls in the opening eight minutes.

Bryant would continue to dominate from the floor and on the glass, not letting the Wildcats into double-digit scoring until a pair of made free throws from Tanner Leissner, 25-10, with 8:21 left on the clock. Starks responded with his first trifecta of the day, and the Bulldogs would limit UNH to just 16 points for the remainder of the half en route to a 50-26 halftime advantage.

Consecutive 3-pointers from redshirt-freshman Bosko Kostur (Melbourne, Australia) highlighted Bryant's run to its first 50-point half since Jan. 24 (50 points vs. Saint Francis U.), while the Bulldog defense held the Wildcat ranks to just nine baskets and 37.5 percent shooting in the opening 20 minutes. Bryant would shoot 56.3 percent in the first stanza (18-32).

But in the second, Daniel Dion (11 points) and Leissner (10 points) opened up the scoring with back-to-back treys to close the gap to 50-32. Riley answered with his second three of the night, and the home side would maintain a 20-point lead through the first media timeout of the frame.

But with a 12-4 run that spanned more than five minutes, UNH closed its deficit to 14 points, 58-43, with 11:24 left in regulation. The Wildcats cut it to just 10, 60-50, with nine left to play, and a John Edwards basket with 8:14 on the clock forced the Bulldogs to take a timeout leading by just eight.

The Wildcats' run would continue, though, as the visitors pulled within a single possession, 60-57, at the 7:28 mark, and within just one point seconds later, forcing yet another Black and Gold timeout with 6:42 remaining in the game.

Jaleen Smith (10 points) would give UNH its first lead of the night at the 6:14 mark, 61-60, but as the clock ticked under five to play, Starks renewed a five-point Bryant lead with a triple made from distance and another from the free throw line, 66-61.

The senior guard extended his own scoring stretch to eight straight with 2:34 to play, and McLaughlin scored just Bryant's 20th point of the half with two to go for a 70-63 edge. But the hosts would make their free throws down the stretch, holding on to earn their first victory of the season.

The Bulldogs were outscored, 37-22, and outshot, .400 to .350, in the second frame but finished the game converting at a 48.1 percent clip from the floor and a 38.1 percent mark from beyond the arc. Bryant just edged out UNH on the glass, 34-33, and saw four blocks, with two apiece from senior Joe O'Shea (Burlington, Vt.) (5 points, 5 rebounds) and sophomore Dan Garvin (Bethel, Conn.) (7 points, 6 rebounds).

The Bulldogs return to action Wednesday night for their second-straight contest against an America East foe, traveling to Burlington, Vt., to take on Vermont at 7:00 p.m.