Bulldogs return home for a matchup with intrastate rival Brown Saturday at 4:00 p.m.

GAME NOTES

SMITHFIELD, R.I. -- The Bryant University men's basketball team returns home for the first time in two weeks when it hosts intrastate rival Brown University on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. The game can be seen live on NECFrontRow.com and heard on WOON 1240AM.

THE SERIES
Saturday's game marks the 15th overall meeting and the eighth-straight season the Bulldogs and Bears have squared off. Although Brown was victorious in last year's meeting in Providence, 69-62, Bryant has won two of the previous three meetings, including the most recent contest at the Chace Athletic Center. The Bulldogs defeated the Bears, 70-67, in Smithfield on Nov. 27, 2013.
 
SCOUTING THE BEARS  
The Bears' only player averaging double figures is senior forward Cedric Kuakumensah (12.9) on 46.1 percent shooting (35-76) from the floor. In addition to being the team's leading scorer, Kuakumensah paces both Brown and the Ivy League with 10.7 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game, making him the conference's only player averaging a double-double. The Bears' well-rounded offense features six other players exceeding 7.5 points per game, including junior JR Hobbie (9.3 ppg), who ranks seventh among Ivy Leaguers at 44.2 percent from deep (19-43). As a team, the Bears shoot 41.8 percent from the field with a 32.7 percent clip from long range while averaging 71.9 points per outing despite just a 2-5 record.

CURRENT BULLDOGS vs. BROWN
Nine Bulldogs have squared off against Brown in their careers, with just three seeing the Bears on more than one occasion. Senior guard Shane McLaughlin has appeared in three previous outings, while fellow captain Curtis Oakley Jr., along with junior forward Dan Garvin, will battle the Bears for a third time Saturday. Garvin posted a double-double (10p, 10r) in Bryant's 70-67 home win over Brown in 2013. In last season's 69-62 loss, sophomores Hunter Ware and Gus Riley chipped in 11 bench points each, while McLaughlin added nine. Current Bulldogs shoot 34.5 percent (19-55) from the floor and 33.3 percent (7-21) from long range against Brown.

BRYANT vs. THE IVY LEAGUE
Saturday's matchup is the third of four contests against members of the Ivy League in 2015-16, including the second of three in the month of December. After an 80-45 loss at Harvard last week and Wednesday's 79-40 loss at Yale, Bryant is 7-22 against Ivy League schools in its short Division I history, having matched up against Columbia (0-3), Brown (2-5), Cornell (0-2), Harvard (0-5), Yale (2-6) and Dartmouth (2-2) over the last eight seasons. In the all-time history of the program, the Bulldogs are just 6-30 against Ivy League opponents, most frequently matching up against intrastate rival Brown (2-12).

LAST TIME OUT
Bryant held its only lead, 10-8, after a Nisre Zouzoua three at the 15:16 mark of the first frame but was outscored by Yale, 71-33, from that point on, as it suffered its largest defeat of the season, 79-40. The Black and Gold were within relative striking distance after a Curtis Oakley Jr. jumper made it 31-24 with just over two minutes to play in the opening frame, but Yale would run away with the game in the second half, outscoring Bryant, 43-16. Junior forward Dan Garvin posted a team-high nine points with seven boards and two blocks, while Bosko Kostur, Hunter Ware and Zouzoua pitched in seven points apiece. As a team, Bryant shot just 28.3 percent from the floor, 19 percent from three and 46.2 percent from the line. Yale was paced by three double-digit scorers, including forward Sam Downey (16p), who went 5-for-5 from the floor and 6-for-6 from the stripe on the night.

QUICK HIT
» Wrong Side of 40: The 40 points scored in Wednesday's loss at Yale marks the sixth lowest single-game point total in Bryant's Division I history, and it is the first time the Bulldogs have scored 40 points or fewer since Feb. 16, 2012 (69-40 loss at Robert Morris).

» Failure to Launch: Bryant failed to drain 15 or more field goals Wednesday night (15-53) for the first time since that loss at Robert Morris in 2012, when the Bulldogs went just 12-for-38 from the field.

» Double-Digit Trouble: The Bulldogs failed to produce a double-digit scorer in the 79-40 loss to Yale, marking the first time that has happened since Feb. 11, 2010 vs. Saint Francis University.

THRIFTY FIFTY
Bryant has now scored less than 50 points in three of its last four games (45 at Harvard, 47 at Georgetown, 40 at Yale), marking the second-straight season it has failed to reach the 50-point mark in at least three games. The last time the Bulldogs scored less than 50 in three losing efforts came in 2009-10, when it happened in 12 different outings. Bryant current averages just 60.8 points per game, ranking in the bottom 20 in scoring offense in all of Division I (331 or 346).

DIRTY THIRTY
For the second time this season, the Bulldogs failed to convert 30 percent of their shots from the field, going just 15-of-53 against Yale. Bryant shot a season-low 26.7 percent against Harvard Nov. 25, marking the first time since last Thanksgiving Eve (Nov. 26, 2014) that the team failed to hit the mark (29.1 percent at Vermont).

FREE THROW WOES
The Bulldogs have struggled from the charity stripe throughout the start of the young season, finishing under 60 percent in five of the team's eight contests. Bryant's worst performance of the year came Nov. 28 against Georgetown, when the Black and Gold went just 5-for-15 from the line (.333), converting less than 40 percent of their free throw attempts for the first time since a 4-of-11 (.364) performance against Mount St. Mary's back on Jan. 14, 2012. Bryant has finished at less than 50 percent three times this season (.462 vs. Prairie View A&M, .462 at Yale) and currently ranks third to last in Division I with a 56.4 percent clip on the year.

ON THE REBOUND
The Bulldogs have yet to outrebound an opponent in 2015-16, posting a -8.8 rebounding margin on the young season. This is the first time in the program's Division I history the team has opened a campaign on the short side on the glass in eight-straight outings. The last time the Bulldogs were outboarded in more seven-straight games at any point in a season was back in 2011-12, when the team lost the battle on the boards in nine-consecutive games from Nov. 27-Jan. 5. Bryant currently ranks 334th in Division I in rebounding margin (-8.8) and 312th in rebounds per game (32.50).

IN THE MARGINS
Bryant has played just one game in which the final margin has been within 10 points, coming at UNH on Monday (75-67). The Bulldogs' five  remaining defeats have come by 39 (Yale), 38 (Duke), 35 (Harvard), 30 (Georgetown) and 19 (Siena), while its two wins (Emerson, Prairie View A&M) each came by 13 points.

IT'S NOT NOW YOU FINISH...
Sometimes, it's how you start. Bryant has gotten off to some slow starts to begin the season, trailing at the half in six of its eight contests. The Bulldogs are 0-6 when trailing at the intermission, currently being outscored, 252-163, in the opening frame. Bryant is 2-0 when leading at the half, outscoring the opposition, 83-55, in the opening stanza in those contests. The Bulldogs went 10-4 last season when leading at the break.

WARE, OH WARE
Sophomore guard Hunter Ware has emerged as an offensive weapon to be reckoned with early in the 2015-16 season. The Georgia native averages a team-high 14.6 points per game, ranking him ninth in the NEC, while shooting better than 42 percent from the field (40-94) and over 33 percent (14-42) from long range. Ware opened the season with two of the best offensive performances of his career, logging back-to-back 20-point outings that included a career-high 24 points in the Nov. 14 season opener at No. 5/4 Duke.

HIGH MILEAGE FOR McLAUGHLIN
Senior point guard Shane McLaughlin is once again proving to be a workhorse for the Bulldogs on the court, playing 34 minutes or more in seven of the seasons first eight contests. The Old Tappan, N.J., native was third in the NEC last year with an average of 36.68 minutes per game and remains in that slot as a senior with a current average of 36.38 minutes per outing (27th nationally). Over his last 53 starts, McLaughlin has played 37 minutes or more 26 times. He has played the entire game seven times in the span, including all 50 minutes in a double-overtime win against Sacred Heart in last year's NEC Tournament.

TICKET TO RIDE
Single-game and partial 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 University Athletics Ticket Office at
401-319-TIXX.

CAN'T MAKE IT TO THE GAME?
Bryant University Athletics and the Northeast Conference have partnered with Pack Network to create NEC Front Row, the home for all NEC men's and women's basketball broadcasts. NEC Front Row brings viewers an industry-leading video streaming solution for more than 100 Bryant University home contests during the 2015-16 athletic seasons, including live, free-of-charge, high-definition broadcasts of all Bulldog home men's basketball games. Live event productions include multiple camera angles, an on-screen scoreboard, state-of-the-art graphics and brand-new DVR functionality. Visit necfrontrow.com for more information and a schedule of events.

BRYANT HOOPS ON WOON RADIO
For the eighth 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 alongside color analyst Tristan Hobbes.

UP NEXT
The Bulldogs remain home for a Tuesday night affair with Army. The matchup against the Black Knights will be the seventh between these two programs at the Division I level. Tipoff at the Chace Athletic Center is set for 7:00 p.m.