Garvin posts season high, Bulldogs fall to UNH, 75-67, on road Monday night

DURHAM, N.H. – Junior forward Dan Garvin (Bethel, Conn.) scored a season-high 15 points and shot 70 percent from the floor to pace the Bryant University men's basketball team, but the Bulldogs fell victim to a late Wildcat run in a 75-67 loss to the University of New Hampshire Monday night on the road.

Despite shooting 46.7 percent on the contest, the Bulldogs (2-5) saw the Wildcats (4-2) go on a 19-3 run that stretched over 5:38 late in the second half, giving the home side a 66-57 lead it wouldn't relinquish in the final three minutes of the game.

Garvin's 15 points came along with six boards and paced three double-figure scorers for the Black and Gold. Senior point guard Shane McLaughlin (Old Tappan, N.J.) also added a season high with 12 points, while sophomore guard Hunter Ware (Powder Springs, Ga.) scored 11. Reigning Northeast Conference Rookie of the Week Marcel Pettway (North Providence, R.I.) paced the game and tied his career high with 12 boards, also adding seven points on the night.

Jaleen Smith scored 23 to lead UNH, while Jacoby Armstrong chipped in 14 and Ronnel Jordan added 13 for a Wildcat side that converted 45.2 percent of its shots. Iba Camara pulled down 11 boards with eight points as the hosts edged the Black and Gold on the glass, 36-35.

Bryant once again struggled from distance, connecting on just 3-of-17, while UNH drained 10 trifectas in 28 tries and went 9-for-12 at the line.

The teams traded baskets through the first five minutes of the game before an 8-2 Bulldog run gave the visitors a 16-11 edge just over nine minutes in. Bryant would take its largest lead of the half, 21-15, after senior guard Curtis Oakley Jr. (South Euclid, Ohio) was left wide open for a three in front of the UNH bench with nine minutes remaining in the stanza.

But the lead would diminish from there, and back-to-back trifectas from Keon Burns and Daniel Dion (9 points) a minute apart gave the Wildcats their first advantage since the 14:57 mark, 26-25. Bryant would take back the lead when rookie guard Nisre Zouzoua (Brockton, Mass.) (8 points) found sophomore Bosko Kostur (Melbourne, Australia) (9 points) slashing through the paint for an easy dunk, 29-28, but it wouldn't last long, as the sides found themselves deadlocked at 33-33 with 30 seconds to play.

Smith nailed a 3-pointer with 18 ticks to go, but sophomore forward Gus Riley (Nelson, New Zealand) hit a layup at the buzzer to send the Black and Gold into the break trailing by just one, 36-35.

The Bulldogs found themselves down five quickly out of the intermission, but six-straight points from Garvin put the visitors back on top, 45-44, with 13:33 on the clock. Those six points would kickstart a 15-3 Bryant run that spanned 6:33 and upped the lead to 54-47 with nine minutes remaining in regulation.

UNH would tie the game at 54-54 after its own 7-0 streak, and the hosts would take over the edge once again with 5:44 on the clock off another Smith trifecta, 59-57, in the midst of a 19-3 stretch that would run the margin to 66-57 favoring the Wildcats.

The run took the clock all the way down to the 3:18 mark, and Bryant would not be able to make up the difference in the 75-67 final.

But there will be no break for the weary after Monday's defeat, as the Bulldogs will need to bounce back quickly before facing a strong Yale team in just two days, taking on the New Haven, Conn., Ivy League side Wednesday night on the road for their fourth game in eight days. The contest tips off at 7:00 p.m.