Bryant hosts 2K Classic Subregional Friday and Saturday, opens against Prairie View A&M Friday at 7p

GAME NOTES

SMITHFIELD, R.I. -- The Bryant University men's basketball team welcomes Prairie View A&M to the Chace Athletic Center as part of the 2K Classic Smithfield Subregional Round Friday at 7:00 p.m. The game can be seen live on NECFrontRow.com.

THE SERIES
This is the first-ever meeting between the Bulldogs and the Panthers.

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
Prairie View enters Friday's game with an 0-2 record on the young season. The Panthers opened with a 75-50 loss at VCU before falling to Houston (110-69) on Wednesday night. PVAMU was selected to finish fifth in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) this season.

The Panthers used a second-half surge to advance all the way to the semi-finals in the SWAC Tournament in 2014-15. They finished 12-6 in league play but graduated four of their top five scorers. Karim York returns as the top threat for PVAMU and is 8.5 points per game in two contests. Transfer Tevin Bellinger leads the team with 13.0 ppg and fellow transfer Admassu Williams is not far off with 12.5 ppg. In two games, the Panthers have been outscored by nearly 33 points per game and have been outrebounded by 14 in those two contests.

BRYANT vs. THE SWAC
Friday night's contest against Prairie View will be the first time the Bulldogs have faced a member of the SWAC.

BULLDOGS HOST 2K CLASSIC SUBREGIONAL THIS WEEKEND
The 21st annual 2K Classic benefiting Wounded Warrior Project comes to Smithfield, R.I. this weekend. The in-season tournament opened last weekend when the Bulldogs faced regional round host No. 5/4 Duke. Bryant will also face regional host Georgetown on Nov. 28 in Washington, D.C.

Tonight, the Black and Gold will play host to the tournament's Smithfield Subregional Round, which features Bryant, Prairie View A&M, Radford and Siena. The four teams will play a pair of doubleheaders this weekend at the Chace. Two more Regional Round hosts – national runner-up Wisconsin and NCAA tournament participant VCU – also join the 2K Classic field.

LAST TIME OUT
Bryant led by just five at the half but used a 12-0 run to start the second half to pull away from Emerson for its first victory, 82-69, of the season on Wednesday night in the home opener. The Bulldogs received 23 points apiece from sophomore Hunter Ware and freshman Nisre Zouzoua. Senior point guard Shane McLaughlin was the third Bulldog in double figures, and four Bryant players registered five rebounds or more on the night. The Black and Gold shot 44 percent from the field and made 11-of-31 three-pointers in the game.

BULLDOGS IN THE HOME OPENER
Bryant has now won its last four home openers after Wednesday's victory over Emerson. The Bulldogs are 4-4 in home openers at the Division I level and are 10-4 over the last 14 seasons. Bryant lost its first four home openers at the DI level before defeating New Hampshire, 76-64, in 2012-13. The Black and Gold then defeated Vermont in 2013-14 (87-64) and the Wildcats again in 2014-15 (72-63). Prior to their jump to DI, the Bulldogs had won six-straight home openers dating back to the 2002-03 season.

WARE, OH WARE
Sophomore guard Hunter Ware has opened the season with two of the best offensive performances of his career. He scored a career-high 24 points in last Saturday's opener at Duke and followed with 23 points vs. Emerson. Ware's back-to-back 20-point games double his total output from his rookie season. He has tied career-highs in field goals made (9) and field goals attempted (15) in each of the first two contests and set career-highs in 3-point field goals made (6), 3-point field goals attempted (11) and minutes played (37) at Duke.

RARIFIED AIR
In addition to his career high in points at Duke, Ware became the first Bulldog other than Dyami Starks ('15) to hit six or more 3-pointers in a game since the 2012 season.

THE NAME IS ZOUZOUA
Freshman Nisre Zouzoua has quickly made a name for himself in the first two games of his collegiate career. He scored 16 points and grabbed four rebounds in his debut at Duke only to follow that with 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting vs. Emerson. Zouzoua has gone 4-for-7 from beyond the arc in each of the first two games and added five more rebounds vs. the Lions.

EIGHT IS GREAT
Zouzoua started 0-for-2 on Wednesday but then made his next eight shots from the field on the way to his career day. He sank all four of his 3-pointers over the stretch and also canned all three from the charity stripe.

HISTORIC DEBUT FOR NISRE
Zouzoua's 16 points against Duke in his collegiate debut are the most by a freshman in Bryant's DI history since Alex Francis  ('14) scored 16 in his debut against Cleveland St. on Nov. 12, 2010. Zouzoua and Francis have the highest scoring outputs in a collegiate debut over the last 10 years at Bryant.

START ME UP
Senior captain Shane McLaughlin made is 47th-consecutive start at the point for the Bulldogs on Wednesday vs. Emerson. McLaughlin took over the starting point guard position during his sophomore season on Jan. 18 at Fairleigh Dickinson. He started the final 14 games of the 2013-14 season and all 31 games last year for the Black and Gold.

McLAUGHLIN RACKING UP THE MILES
McLaughlin not only started at Duke but played 39 minutes against the Blue Devils. The Old Tappan, N.J., native was third in the NEC last year with an average of 36.68 minutes per game. Over his last 47 starts, McLaughlin has played 37 minutes or more in 23 of those contests. He has played the entire game six times in the span, including all 50 minutes in a double-overtime win last year against Sacred Heart in NEC Tournament.

THE RILEY FACTOR
After playing in just two of the final 16 games last year, sophomore forward Gus Riley came off the bench to score eight points and grab five rebounds at Duke. Riley earned his eighth-career start on Wednesday and scored seven points with five rebounds.

TICKET TO RIDE
Single-game and season ticket packages are available for the 2015-16 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.

UP NEXT
The Bulldogs return to the court Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. for the final game of the 2K Classic Smithfield Subregional. Bryant will either play Siena or Radford depending on the outcomes of Friday's opening contest.