Bulldogs conclude roadtrip at the Mount, Saturday at 2 p.m. in Emmitsburg

GAME NOTES

THE SERIES
Saturday's game marks the 15th all-time meeting between the Bulldogs and the Mountaineers, with this weekend's hosts holding a 10-4 all-time series edge. Over the last three seasons, the home side has defended its respective court, as the two squads are a combined 7-0 in front of the home crowd since 2012-13. Bryant will be looking for its first win in Emmitsburg at both the Division I level (0-6) and in program history (0-7).
 
SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS
The lone unbeaten member of the NEC is led by a pair of double-figure scorers. Junior guard BK Ashe leads the Mount in points per game (14.4) and rebounds per contest (3.8). Sophomore wing Junior Robinson follows with 10.7 points per effort, shooting a team-best 80.6 percent from the free throw line. The Mount boasts the nations worst rebounding margin (-14.1) snaring just 27.6 caroms per game to rank last in the NEC and 344 at the DI level. The team makes up for its deficiencies on the glass at the defensive end, leading the conference in turnovers forced (19.13) and total steals (135), sitting second and 10th nationally in those categories, respectively.    

CURRENT BULLDOGS vs. MOUNT ST. MARY'S
Nine current Bulldogs have squared off against the Mount in their careers, with five having done so more than once. In his only two games against the Mountaineers, sophomore Bosko Kostur has averaged 16.0 points and 4.5 rebounds per contest, shooting better than 66 percent from deep and 64 percent from the floor. Seniors Shane McLaughlin and Curtis Oakley Jr. have played MSM the most, with seven and five games under their belt, respectively. Junior Dan Garvin has produced a 7.0 points per game average with 3.8 caroms per effort in four career encounters with the Mount. Garvin posted 11.0 points and 6.5 boards against the Mountaineers in both games of the 2014-15 campaign. Junior Andrew Scocca has seen the Mount three times and sophomore Hunter Ware has faced MSM twice. As a team, current Black and Gold members are shooting 48.2 percent from the floor (41-85) and 60 percent from beyond the arc (6-10) against the Mountaineers.     

BRYANT vs. THE NORTHEAST CONFERENCE  
The Bulldogs are 2-1 against Northeast Conference competition in 2015-16 with an overall record of 45-63 (.417) against current NEC members since joining the Division I ranks. All-time against current conference institutions, the Bulldog basketball program is 59-80 (.424). Bryant finished 2014-15 NEC play with a 12-6 league record, earning the No. 3 seed in the 2015 NEC Tournament, and won its first postseason game at the DI level by defeating Sacred Heart, 91-85, in the Quartefinals.

LAST TIME OUT
After battling back from a double-digit first-half deficit, the Bulldogs took their first lead of the contest with 8:55 to play in the second half, but Wagner College regained the edge late in regulation and pulled away at the end for a 65-56 victory on Thursday night. Junior forward Dan Garvin paced Bryant with a game-best 14 points to pair with six caroms and two denials. Sophomore guard Hunter Ware and senior Curtis Oakley Jr. combined to drain five of the team's six triples, netting 11 and 12 points, respectively. Corey Henson charged the Seahawks with 11 points and three makes from beyond the arc, while Dwaun Anderson added nine points with eight boards and four blocks. Japhet Kadji and Michael Carey chipped in 10 points apiece, as Carey corralled a contest-high 15 rebounds. Neither team shot particularly well, as both sides shot under 40 percent from the field and from long range. The Bulldogs shot 35.3 percent from floor (18-51) and  recorded the same clip from 3-point land (6-17). The Seahawks shot 34.9 percent from the floor (22-63) and just 30 percent from deep (6-20).   

QUICK HITS  
» Take Two: The loss to Wagner on Thursday put a blemish on the Bulldog's 2-0 start to conference play in this 2015-16 campaign. This is just the second season since the Bulldogs became a Northeast Conference member that they have began league action winning the first two games. Bryant opened up conference play 6-0 back in 2012-13.  

» Double-Figure It Out: After not having five double-digit scorers in a game since Dec. 9, 2014 against Army, the Bulldogs produced five double-figure scorers in consecutive games against CCSU and FDU. It marks the first time five Bryant performers have netted double-figure points in consecutive games since Jan. 18 (at FDU) and Jan. 23 (vs. LIU Brooklyn) of the 2013-14 campaign.

» Turn Over For What: The 20 turnovers committed by the Bulldogs on Monday at FDU matches the most losses of possession for the squad since Jan. 17, 2013 against Mount St. Mary's. In addition to the previous two 20 turnover outings, Bryant has turned the ball over 20 or more times on 12 occassions in its Division I era.  

HALF TO HALVE IT
After shooting better than 50 percent in both halves from the floor and from three against the Knights on Monday, the Bulldogs shot under 40 percent from both ranges in the first half and below 35 percent from the field in the second frame in Thursday's contest against Wagner. While the Black and Gold struggled to find its shot, it held the Seahawks to less than 40 percent from both locations in both halves as well. Wagner won Thursday's matchup despite finishing at just a .349 clip from the floor and a .300 clip from distance, marking the first time the Bulldogs have held an opponent to under 35 percent from both inside and outside the 3-point arc since Feb. 28, 2015 against St. Francis Brooklyn.

DOING THE HONORS
For a fourth time this season and for a second-straight week, bigman Marcel Pettway was named the NEC Rookie of the Week (Jan. 5). The frosh forward had a stellar three-game stretch in which he averaged 19.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.3 steals with a shooting percentage of 71.9 against Dartmouth (Dec. 31), CCSU (Jan. 2), and FDU (Jan. 4). The North Providence, R.I., native is averaging 10.4 points per contest with 6.4 rebounds per game, and he currently ranks second in the NEC in field goal percentage (60.6).

FREE THROW WOAH!
It took the Black and Gold quite some time, but it finally made more than 20 free throws in Monday's win over FDU (27), marking the first time the team had made more than 20 freebies since Feb. 28, 2015 against St. Francis Brooklyn (25). The 42 attempts from the line against the Knights are the most for the Bulldogs since they tried 44 vs. St. Francis Brooklyn on Jan. 25, 2014, and it is just the third time at the Division I level that they have shot the rock over 40 times from the charity stripe.  

ON THE REBOUND
After losing the battle on the glass 12 times to begin the 2015-16 campaign, the Bulldogs have outrebounded two of the last four opponents (Dartmouth and FDU). This was the first time in the program's Division I history the team had opened a campaign on the short side on the glass in 12-straight outings. The last time the Bulldogs were outboarded in more than 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. To find the last time the squad was outrebounded in 12 or more straight contests, you must look all the way back to the 2009-10 season, when the Bulldogs lost the board battle in 20 in a row from Dec. 3-Feb. 13. Bryant currently ranks 315th in Division I in rebounding margin (-5.5) and 293rd in rebounds per game (33.94).

FREE THROW WOES
The Bulldogs have struggled from the charity stripe throughout the 2015-16 season, finishing under 60 percent in eight of the team's 16 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 50 percent or less six times this season (.462 vs. Prairie View A&M, .462 at Yale, .500 at Michigan, .500 at Providence, .500 at Duke) and currently ranks fifth to last in Division I with a 59.8 percent clip on the year.

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 15 of the season's first 16 contests. The Old Tappan, N.J., native was third in the NEC last year with an average of 36.68 minutes per game and currently sits second as a senior with an average of 37.38 minutes per outing (ninth nationally). As a starter (61 games), McLaughlin has played 37 minutes or more 33 times. He has played the entire game nine times in the span, including all 50 minutes in a double-overtime win against Sacred Heart in last year's NEC Tournament.

THE NAME IS ZOUZOUA
Freshman Nisre Zouzoua made a name for himself in the first two games of his collegiate career and has gotten back on track as of late. He scored 16 points in his debut at No. 5 Duke, only to follow that up with a career-high 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting against Emerson. Zouzoua started 0-for-2 against the Lions but then made his next eight shots from the field on his way to his career day. And after six-consecutive single-digit outings, the Brockton, Mass., native has scored in double-digits in six of the last eight games, averaging 11.6 points per contest since Dec. 5. In a 76-68 loss to Brown, Zouzoua drained four treys en route to a team-high 18 points. He then led the team in scoring for the third time in his young collegiate career with 17 points in a 77-55 loss to Army on Dec. 8 and followed that up with 11 points and a trio of 3-pointers at No. 15/18 Providence on Dec. 12.  After an eight-point output at Michigan on Dec. 23, the rookie scored 13 at Dartmouth on New Year's Eve, 11 vs. CCSU on Jan. 2, and 13 at FDU on Jan. 4.

WARE, OH WARE
Sophomore guard Hunter Ware has emerged as an offensive weapon to be reckoned with in the 2015-16 season. The Georgia native averages a team-high 14.1 points per game, ranking him ninth in the NEC while shooting better than 43 percent from the field (78-179) and over 38 percent (33-86) 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. He reset his season-best with 26 points at Michigan while matching a career-best six triples.

LINEUP DANCING
Through 16 games in this 2015-16 campaign, the Bulldogs have unveiled eight variations of their starting lineup. Head coach Tim O'Shea has repeated a starting lineup just twice this year, but has found success in a consistent opening five of late. The cast of senior Shane McLaughlin, sophomore Hunter Ware, freshman Nisre Zouzoua, freshman Marcel Pettway and junior Dan Garvin have earned six-consecutive starting nods from Dec. 8 - Jan. 7. The Bulldogs have not seen eight or more editions of a starting lineup since the 2011-12 season.

UP NEXT
The Bulldogs return home to play four games in nine days in front of the Smithfield crowd. The homestand tips off on Thursday against St. Francis Brooklyn with a 7:00 p.m. start at the Chace Athletic Center.