Bulldogs, Bears renew Ocean State rivalry

GAME NOTES

SMITHFIELD, R.I. -- The Bryant University men's basketball team takes on its second-consecutive Ivy League opponent Saturday night in intrastate rival Brown University. The 7:30 p.m. tip can  be heard live on WOON 1240AM or at bryantbulldogs.com.

THE SERIES
Saturday's tilt marks the 14th meeting between the Bulldogs and the Bears dating back to the 1985-86 season and the seventh matchup since Bryant went Division I. Brown has dominated the all-time series and leads, 11-2, but it is the Bulldogs who have taken the two latest victories, topping Brown, 70-67, at home last season and 68-61 last time they visited the Pizzitola Center (Nov. 2012).

SCOUTING THE BEARS
Brown enters the contest 3-6 on the 2014-15 season but is 2-1 in its last three outings with a 2-2 mark at home. Leland King paces the Bears in scoring (16.3) and on the glass (8.2) and is one of just two double-digit point scorers, along with nine-game starter Cedric Kuakumensah (10.8 ppg, 17 blocks). Steven Spieth (9.1) is the only other Bear to have started all nine outings and leads the team with 28 assists and eight steals. Rafael Maia is also strong on the glass, averaging 7.6 boards each time out and is the team's most accurate scorer at 54.5 percent (9.4 ppg). As a team, the Bears have been outscored by 7.4 points per outing and average 65.3 points per game with a 43 percent shooting mark.

CURRENT BULLDOGS vs. BROWN
Despite these teams facing off in each of the last six seasons, just five Bryant players have seen court time against the Bears and only junior Shane McLaughlin and seniors Dyami Starks and Joe O'Shea have done so more than once. Starks averages 17 points per game in a pair of meetings, having dropped 25 in his last appearance at the Pizzitola Center in 2012. O'Shea averages 5.5 rebounds and 6.5 points across two previous outings. Sophomore forward Dan Garvin (10p, 10r) and junior guard Curtis Oakley have also made appearances against the Bears, as current Bulldogs are shooting a lifetime .367 (22-60) against Brown.

BRYANT vs. THE IVY LEAGUE
Saturday's matchup marks the second of four contests against members of the Ivy League in 2014-15, including three in the month of December. Bryant is 6-18 against the Ancient Eight in its short Division I history, having matched up against Columbia (0-3), Brown (2-4), Cornell (0-2), Harvard (0-3), Yale (2-5) and Dartmouth (2-1) over the last seven seasons. In the all-time history of the program, the Bulldogs are just 6-25 against Ivy League opponents, most frequently matching up against intrastate rival Brown (2-11). Bryant fell to Yale Wednesday at home, 67-60, and will face off against Dartmouth (Dec. 31) and Harvard (Jan. 20) later this season.

UP NEXT
The Bulldogs stay on the road through the holiday break, next traveling to West Point, N.Y., to take on Army Tuesday night (7:00 p.m.). The contest can be heard live on WOON 1240 AM or at bryantbulldogs.com.

WALK THE LINE
Fouling sharpshooting guard Dyami Starks is as good as giving away points in 2014-15. The senior captain has been a guarantee at the free throw line on the young season, making all 15 of his freebie opportunities. He is one of just four players who remains perfect at the stripe.

THE STATS ON STARKS
The leading scorer in the NEC, senior guard Dyami Starks enters Saturday's contest ranked 28th in the nation with 19.6 points per game. A big part of that number is his deadliness from 3-point land, from which the senior captain accounts for more than 64 percent (63) of his 98 points this season. In fact, Starks currently ranks third in the national standings for threes per game — draining 4.2 each time out — and ranks in the top-50 for 3-point field goal percentage (.457). His long game has been heating up as of late, as well, hitting 12 in the last two contests alone, including a 5-for-6 mark against Yale Wednesday night. As a team, thanks largely to Starks, the Black and Gold rank 26th in the country in trifectas per game.

HOLD ON TIGHT
As a team, the Bulldogs current rank 10th in the nation in fewest turnovers, giving the ball away 58 times. They rank 52nd in the country with an 11.6 per game average.

BENCH BLUES
Despite boasting one of its deepest teams in years, Bryant is still struggling to see major contributions off the bench. The Bulldogs get just 25 percent of its scoring from non-starters, with a season-high 23 coming in the second game of the year at home against UNH.

DIALED IN FROM DISTANCE
Despite losses in the last two contests, Bryant senior guard Dyami Starks has been clunch from distance in the outings, converting from beyond the arc better than 57 percent of the time (12-of-21). The Bulldog captain added to his long list of 3-point shooting clinics last Sunday when he nearly rallied the Bulldogs from a 12-point deficit in the final 2 1/2 minutes of a 72-66 loss at Akron. Starks finished with a season-high 25 points, hitting 7-of-15 shots from outside the arc, including three in the final six minutes. Starks surpassed the 20-point mark for the 24th time in his career and first time this season, and his seven 3-pointers tied for the second most he has made in a game (eight vs. Delaware, Dec. 21, 2013). He then went on to make 5-of-6 from distance Wednesday night against Yale for his second-straight 20-point game (23) of the season.

BRYANT HOOPS ON WOON RADIO
For the seventh season, all Bryant University basketball home games and select road contests can be heard LIVE on WOON 1240 AM. 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.