Bulldogs come from behind in 77-69 victory over CCSU, clinch home court advantage in NEC Quarterfinals

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Senior guard Dyami Starks (Duluth, Minn.) scored 24 points while sophomore forward Dan Garvin (Bethel, Conn.) collected his sixth double-double of the season as the Bryant University men's basketball team secured home court advantage in the 2015 NEC Tournament Quarterfinals with a 77-69 victory over Central Connecticut Thursday night.

Despite trailing for the majority of the contest, the Bulldogs (14-14, 11-6 Northeast Conference) pulled within one, 62-61, on a Garvin drive through the lane as the clock ticked into the final five minutes of regulation. Rookie guard Hunter Ware (Powder Springs, Ga.) gave Bryant its first lead since the opening basket seconds later with his fourth 3-pointer of the night with 4:11 remaining.

Three straight defensive stops would lead to a trio of Bulldog makes the other direction, as the home side used Ware's corner three as a starter block for 10-straight points and a 71-63 edge over the Blue Devils (5-25, 3-14) with 2:15 left to play.

CCSU would put an end to the run with a Matt Mobley jumper at the two-minute mark, but the teams would score an even 6-6 through the remainder of the contest for the 77-69 comeback final.

Paced by Starks, the Bulldogs saw four finish in double figures, with Garvin adding 17 to go along with a game-high 14 rebounds. Senior guard Joe O'Shea (Burlington, Vt.) chipped in 15 with seven boards, while Ware finished the day with 16, including a 4-for-6 mark from beyond the arc. Starks went a perfect 10-for-10 from the line, while junior point guard Shane McLaughlin (Old Tappan, N.J.) had a stellar day as a distributor with a career-high 12 assists (4 points).

Mobley paced the game for the Blue Devils with 31 points off 10-for-20 shooting and a 7-of-8 mark from the charity stripe, while Khalen Cumberlander chipped in 17 on the loss. Brandon Peel pulled in eight boards with six points, while CCSU shot 45.3 percent as a team.

The Bulldogs shot 49.1 percent on the evening, outrebounding the Blue Devils, 35-26. Both teams limited themselves to just six turnovers on the tilt, while the Bulldogs edged CCSU on the block, 5-2, behind four stuffs from Garvin.

CCSU set the pace early on in the opening half and didn't lose the lead after the opening basket. Mobley gave the visitors an eight-point advantage, 21-13, with less than nine minutes to go, but the Bulldogs will respond with eight-straight points to tie the score at 21-21 with 6:20 remaining before the break.

Bryant fell behind again, and would close the gap to one, 26-25, with 2:05 to play, but the Blue Devils would get the last bucket of the frame – a trey from Mobley with 13 seconds remaining – to enter the break leading, 34-29.

The teams would open the second frame going a combined 11-of-14 from the floor and 4-of-6 from beyond the arc, but Central Connecticut remained up by six, 48-42, through the opening five minutes of the stanza.

The second-straight triple from Starks with 14:16 to play closed that gap to a single possession, 48-45, for the first time in the half, but Bryant would continue to trail by three points or fewer for much of the next five minutes.

Starks would finally pull the hosts back to even at 55-55 with a pair of made free throws with just less than nine minutes remaining, but the 10th trifecta of the night for the Blue Devils – this one from Cumberlander at the top of the arc – quickly put the visitors back on top. But the momentum would quickly shift to the Bulldogs from there, as the hosts came from behind to seal home court advantage in the conference tournament first round.

The Bulldogs will return to the court Saturday afternoon for the regular-season finale to celebrate 2015 Senior Day, hosting top-seeded St. Francis Brooklyn at the Chace Athletic Center at 4:00 p.m.