Bulldogs travel to Loretto Pa., where they seek to slow down the Red Flash, Thursday at 7 p.m.

GAME NOTES

SMITHFIELD, R.I. -- The Bryant University men's basketball team will begin the final month of the regular season in Loretto, Pa., when it takes on Saint Francis University on Thursday at 7:00 p.m.

THE SERIES
Thursday's contest marks the 13th all-time meeting between the two programs, with the Bulldogs holding a 7-5 series edge, despite dropping the last two matchups. The Black and Gold have won four of the last six encounters overall and hold a 3-2 series advantage over the Red Flash in Loretto.   

SCOUTING THE RED FLASH
The Red Flash are led by a trio of seniors and one freshman. Senior guards Greg Brown and Ben Millaud-Meunier who lead the squad in scoring, averaging 13.2 and 13.0 points per game, respectively. Brown leads the team in assists and shoots 42.8 percent from the floor, while Millaud-Meunier leads the nation in free-throw percentage with a .915 clip and he sits second in the NEC in three-point field-goal percentage (41.0). The third senior, Ronnie Drinnon, scores 11.3 points per effort and leads the league with 9.0 boards per game and 22 double-doubles on the year. The freshman is Isaiah Blackmon, who nets 10.1 points per contest shooting 54.3 percent from the floor, ranking him fifth in the league. The Red Flash lead the NEC in three-point field goal percentage (38.1) and hold opponents to a league-low 31.5 percent from long range.

TOP DAWGS VS. SAINT FRANCIS U.
Sophomore wing Hunter Ware averages just over nine points per contest in three-career games against the Red Flash, while junior bigman Dan Garvin nets over eight points per game in five career matchups and 12 points per attempt in his last three matchups with over 8.0 boards. Senior captain Shane McLaughlin is the only other Bulldog that scored in double-figures in these two team's first meeting of the season on Jan. 21, as he posted 12 points to go along with seven assists. McLaughlin charts 8.6 points and four assists per contest in his seven career encounters with SFU. Current Bulldogs are shooting a combined 49.2 percent from the field (66-134) and 45.2 percent from beyond the arc (19-42) against the Red Flash.
 
BRYANT vs. THE NORTHEAST CONFERENCE  
The Bulldogs are 4-6 against Northeast Conference competition in 2015-16 with an overall record of 47-68 (.408) 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 38-24 record (.612) over the last three seasons. The Black and Gold are 22-11 at home versus the NEC and 19-15 on the road since 2012-13. All-time against current conference institutions, the Bulldog basketball program is 61-85 (.417).

LAST TIME OUT
After trailing by as many as 11 points late in the second half, the Bulldogs mustled back to grab a one-point lead with under 30 seconds remaining, but fell vicitim to a late triple and dropped Saturday's contest to Sacred Heart, 72-71, in Fairfield. Junior forward Dan Garvin charged Bryant with his fourth double-double of the year behing a career-high 25 points and a game-best 14 boards. Sophomore Hunter Ware drained four triples, two of which came in a seven second span to give the Bulldogs a lead with 0:27 on the clock, en route to 19 points. Junior guard Justin Brickman had a career day, matching a personal best with eight points in a career-high 26 minutes of action. Cane Broome paced the Pioneers with 17 points, and he drained the game-winning triple with 11 seconds to play. Tevin Falzon added his own double-double of 15 points and 13 caroms, as Sean Hoehn and Eyimofe Edukugho scored 14 and 11 points, respectively. The Bulldogs shot 44.8 percent from the floor (26-58) and 38.9 percent from deep (7-18), as the Pioneers converted 41.4 percent of their shots from the field (24-58) and 33.3 percent from 3-point land.

QUICK HITS
» This Game is Going Down, Down, To the Wire Now: The 72-71 loss at Sacred Heart on Jan. 30 marked the first game decided by a single point for the Bulldogs this season. Bryant has played just five games determined by one point since the program joined the Division I ranks in 2008.

» Roller Coaster: After opening conference play winning four of the first five games, the Bulldogs have dropped the last five NEC matchups. The Black and Gold have not been defeated in five or more league contests  in a row since the 2011-2012 season.

» Dan the Man: Junior forward Dan Garvin netted a career-high 25 points and corralled 14 boards for his fourth double-double of the season and the 13th of his career in the Bulldogs' loss at Sacred Heart on Jan. 30. It makes Garvin just the second player in Bryant's DI tenure to record at least 25 points and 14 rebounds in a game, and just the third Bulldog to chart those numbers since the 2001-2002 campaign.

LONG RANGE MARKSMEN
Senior captain Shane McLaughlin and sophomore guard Hunter Ware have been red hot from beyond the arc this season. McLaughlin nets 40.4 percent of his triples (23-57) and Ware sinks 40.2 percent (51-127), as the two sit fourth and fifth, 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 .444 and .472, 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.   

AND THESE FRESHMEN AIN'T NEVER DID THIS BEFORE, NO
The Bulldogs have a bright future in rookie bigman Marcel Pettway and first-year guard Nisre Zouzoua, but are well positioned in the present as well. The freshmen are averaging 11.1 and 10.6 points per game, respectively, to rank them second and third among NEC rookies, as Pettway nets 15.1 points per contest in conference play, ranking him fourth overall and first among league froshes. The forward-guard combo amass 21.7 points per effort, and rank inside the top 25 among all newcomer scoring duos at the Division I level.  

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 10 of the last 12 contests. The Old Tappan, N.J. native leads the Northeast Conference in assists per game with 5.30 and 6.50 helpers in conference play.   

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 22 of the season's first 23 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 37.78 minutes per outing (fourth nationally). As a starter (67 games), McLaughlin has played 37 minutes or more 38 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.

WARE, OH WARE
Sophomore guard Hunter Ware has been an offensive weapon to be reckoned with during the 2015-16 season. The Georgia native averages a team-high 14.0 points per game, ranking him eighth in the NEC while shooting 42.6 percent from the field (112-263) and over 40 percent (51-127) 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.

FREE THROW WOES
The Bulldogs have struggled from the charity stripe throughout the 2015-16 season, finishing under 60 percent in 10 of the team's 23 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 13th to last in Division I with a 61.2 percent clip on the year.

ON THE REBOUND
The Bulldogs have been outrebounded in 19 of their 23 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 22 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 14-consecutive starting nods from Dec. 8 - Jan. 30. The Bulldogs have not seen eight or more editions of a starting lineup since the 2011-12 season.

UP NEXT
The Bulldogs will conclude their four-game road stint in Moon, Pa. as they take on conference nemesis Robert Morris. The Saturday afternoon tip is set for 4:00 p.m. at the Charles L. Sewall Center.