Bulldogs host Colonials for a Saturday afternoon showdown in Smithfield on ESPN3

GAME NOTES

SMITHFIELD, R.I. -- The Bryant University men's basketball team wraps up its four-game homestand on Saturday as it takes on Robert Morris. The 4:05 tip against the defending NEC tournament champions can be seen on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app (Paul Dottino & Terry O'Connor) or heard on WOON 1240 AM (Jon Wallach and Tristan Hobbes).

THE SERIES
Saturday's matchup is the 13th all-time meeting between the two programs, with the Colonials holding a 10-2 series advantage. The two sides claimed road victories during the 2014-15 regular season, and squared off in the NEC Semifinal game that resulted in a 66-53 victory for Robert Morris. Prior to that game, the previous six matchups were decided by a combined 25 points. The Black and Gold will be looking for their first win over the Colonials in Smithfield.

SCOUTING THE COLONIALS
Although the defending NEC tournament champs hold a 5-15 record, they possess one of the leagues top players in senior Rodney Pryor. Pryor ranks second in the conference with 20.2 points per game on a .456 clip from the floor to rank third in the NEC, while leading the team with 7.5 boards per game. Sophomore Elijah Minnie nets 12.2 points per effort and grabs 6.4 caroms per contest, as he sits second in the league with 1.84 blocks per night.  Junior Kavon Stewart tallies 9.2 points per outing and sits second in the NEC in assists per game (4.8). The Colonials rank second in the league in six statistical categories, including field goal and 3-point field goal defense, but they lead the conference in turnovers committed per game.

CURRENT BULLDOGS vs. ROBERT MORRIS
Six current Bulldogs have faced the Colonials in their careers, all six having done so at least three times. Junior bigman Dan Garvin and sophomore guard Bosko Kostur average 11.0 and 11.7 points per game, respectively, against the Colonials. Garvin shoots at a .625 clip from floor (20-32) and corralls 6.0 boards per contest in four career matchups with RMU. Kostur netted 54.2 percent of his shots from the field against the Colonials in three games last season (13-24) and 63.6 percent of his 3-pointers (7-11). Senior captains Shane McLaughlin and Curtis Oakley Jr. have played the Colonials seven and five times, respectively, and they each net over four points per game while shooting better than 40 percent from both the floor and 3-point land. Current Bulldogs are shooting a combined 50.9 percent (56-110) from the field and 51.5 percent from downtown (17-33) in competition with Robert Morris.
 
BRYANT vs. THE NORTHEAST CONFERENCE  
The Bulldogs are 4-3 against Northeast Conference competition in 2015-16 with an overall record of 47-65 (.419) against current NEC members since joining the Division I ranks. Prior to the 2012-13 campaign, Bryant held a 9-44 record against conference opponents, but has recorded a 38-21 record (.644) over the last three seasons. The Black and Gold are 22-10 at home versus the NEC and 19-13 on the road since 2012-13. All-time against current conference institutions, the Bulldog basketball program is 61-82 (.426). 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.

WRONG END OF A FIERCE COMEBACK - LAST TIME OUT
The Bulldogs appeared to be in the driver seat for their fifth conference win of the season, but let a 17-point halftime lead slip away as Saint Francis U. owned the second half with a 43-20 point differential to steal Thursday's contest, 71-65. Junior Forward Dan Garvin scored 12 of his team-high 14 points in the first frame while grabbing a team-best eight boards and blocking a season-high four shots. Senior captain Shane McLaughlin and sophomore guard Hunter Ware each added 12 points, as McLaughlin dished out a contest-leading seven helpers. Isaiah Blackmon spearheaded the Red Flash comeback by scoring 16 of his team-leading 19 points in the second stanza. Ben Millaud-Meunier and Ronnie Drinnon scored 12 points apiece, while Drinnon corralled eight boards. Josh Nebo charted a double-double in the win, netting 10 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. The Bulldogs shot 59 percent from the floor in the first half but just 30 percent in the second to finish at a .460 clip for the game (23-50), and after draining 50 percent of their shots from long range in the opening frame, they went 0-for-8 in the second. The Red Flash shot just 31 percent from the field in the first stanza and a mere 23 percent from distance, but upped the two percentages to 61.5 and 60.0, respectively, in the second frame.

QUICK HITS
» Don't Get Frozen, Don't Let It Go: The Bulldogs held a 17-point halftime edge against the Red Flash, but let it go and dropped Thursday's contest, marking the first time they have blown a double-digit halftime lead since Feb. 7, 2015 against Sacred Heart. The Black and Gold have blown double-figure halftime advantages and gone on to lose six times in its Division I tenure, and the 17-point halftime margin that was lost is the largest since the program joined the DI ranks.

» Charity Strike: The seven shots from the charity stripe against LIU Brooklyn on Jan. 16 ties the fewest attempts for the Bulldogs since Feb. 14, 2015. Bryant has attempted seven or fewer free throws 19 times since joining the DI ranks, and the seven tries from the line are the sixth-fewest attempts in the Black and Gold's DI tenure.

» 2:00 Minute Warning: The Bulldogs defeated Mount St. Mary's on Jan. 9 in double-overtime, despite trailing with two minutes to go, making it the first time since Dec. 30, 2013 that they have won a game when behind at the 2:00 mark. Bryant is just 8-69 since joining the Division I ranks when trailing with two minutes remaining in a contest.

» Aided by 80: The Bulldogs are 4-0 this season when scoring 80 or more points, and hold a 22-2 record at the DI level when posting 80 or more points.

» Slow Down, Grab the Ball, Speed Up, Glass Battle: Despite being a slim margin (36-34) the Bulldogs won the battle on the glass in a losing effort against the LIU Brooklyn on Jan. 16, marking the first time they have outrebounded an opponent in a loss since Jan. 29, 2015. The Bulldogs have suffered defeats three times when outboarding the opposition since the start of the 2014-15 campaign.

DOING THE HONORS
For a fifth time this season, bigman Marcel Pettway was named the NEC Rookie of the Week (Jan. 18). The frosh forward continued his outstanding play, averaging a double-double of 16.0 points and 11.0 rebounds to go along with 3.0 assists in the Bulldogs' two-game split last week. The North Providence, R.I., native posted his fourth-career double-double in Bryant's 61-59 win over St. Francis Brooklyn on Jan. 14 with 12 points and 12 boards. He followed up the performance with 20 points on a 10-for-14 effort from the field while snaring 10 caroms in a setback against LIU Brooklyn on Jan. 16. Pettway is averaging 10.7 points per contest, and ranks second among league rookies with 6.9 rebounds per game, and he currently ranks third in the NEC in field goal percentage (58.4).

LONG RANGE MARKSMEN
Senior captain Shane McLaughlin and sophomore guard Hunter Ware have been red hot from beyond the arc this season. McLaughlin nets 44.7 percent of his triples (21-47) and Ware sinks 39.8 percent (41-103), as the two sit third and sixth, respectively, in the NEC in 3-point field goal percentage. The senior and the sophomore have been even hotter from long range against conference opponents, recording clips of .588 and .517, respectively. Only one player has finished a season among the top-five 3-point NEC shooters in Bryant's Division I history, as that long range assasin was sophomore Bosko Kostur last year with a clip of .441.   

MODEL OF ASSISTANCY
Senior captain Shane McLaughlin nearly charted a triple-double by netting 21 points, grabbing a career-high 10 caroms, and dishing out eight assists in the 2OT win over Mount St. Mary's on Jan. 9, making the guard the first player in Bryant's Division I history to record at least 20 points, 10 boards and five assists in a game. McLaughlin has now distributed at least five assists in eight of the last nine contests. The Old Tappan, N.J. native leads the Northeast Conference in assists per game (5.25).  

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 19 of the season's first 20 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 first as a senior with an average of 37.90 minutes per outing (third nationally). As a starter (64 games), McLaughlin has played 37 minutes or more 36 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. McLaughlin logged 48 minutes on the floor in the double-overtime win over Mount St. Mary's on Jan. 9.

ON THE REBOUND
The Bulldogs have been outrebounded in 17 of their 20 games this season, losing the battle on the glass in each of the first 12 games to begin the year. 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.

LINEUP DANCING
Through 20 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 11-consecutive starting nods from Dec. 8 - Jan. 21. The Bulldogs have not seen eight or more editions of a starting lineup since the 2011-12 season.

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 return to the road for a trip southwest as they take on Central Connecticut State University on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. at Detrick Gymnasium.