Bulldogs let 15-point second-half lead slip away, fall to Red Flash, 63-57, Thursday in Loretto

LORETTO, PA. – The Bryant University men's basketball team turned a 10-point first-half lead into a 15-point second-half edge, but were bludgeoned by a 17-2 run over the final 4:51 of play, as Saint Francis University claimed a 63-57 Northeast Conference victory on Thursday night at DeGol Arena.

The rookies led the way for the Bulldogs (7-17, 4-7 NEC), as forward Marcel Pettway (North Providence, R.I.) and guard Nisre Zouzoua (Brockton, Mass.) netted 18 and 13 points, respectively. Pettway charted his eighth double-double of the season by corralling 13 boards. Senior captain Curtis Oakley Jr. (South Euclid, Ohio) added 10 points in the loss.

Basil Thompson scored 11 of his 16 points in the second frame to lead the Red Flash (11-11, 7-4) while grabbing eight boards, and Ronnie Drinnon poured in all 12 of his points in the final half while snaring a contest-best 16 caroms. Josh Nebo and Ben Millaud-Meunier posted 10 points apiece and pulled down eight and six ricochets, respectively.  

Bryant shot 40 percent from the floor in the opening frame, but just 31 percent from the field in the second half to finish at 36 percent (22-61), and it ended the game at 29 percent from long range (7-24). Saint Francis U. shot a mere 20.7 percent from the floor and 27.3 percent from distance in the first stanza, and although it concluded the contest at a .190 clip from downtown (4-21), it shot over 41 percent from the field in the second half. The Red Flash was able to get to the line 13 times and connected on 19 free throws compared to the Bulldogs' five trips to the stripe and six makes.  

After jumping out to a 10-0 lead to start the game by draining four of their first seven shots, the Bulldogs found themselves up by just one, 19-18, with 6:43 to play in the opening half. The Black and Gold retained its double-digit edge with a 12-3 scoring advantage to close out the half, as Oakley Jr. netted a pair of triples over the final two minutes to give the visitors a 31-21 lead heading into the locker rooms.

The Bulldogs stretched out their 6-0 run that capped off the first stanza into an 11-0 run to start the second, as the lead grew to 15 points by the 18:35 mark. Over the next six minutes and change the Red Flash erased the deficit with a 17-3 run in which the Bulldogs were just 1-of-7 from the floor while committing three turnovers.

Bryant was able to maintain its one possession lead over the next three minutes of play, until senior guard Shane McLaughlin (Old Tappan, N.J.) turned a near shot-clock violation into points. With the Bulldogs leading by just one, 45-44, at the 8:32 mark, the fourth-year captain got hacked on a 3-point attempt as the buzzer sounded, and he netted all three attempts to initiate a 10-2 run that gave Bryant a 55-46 advantage with under five to play.

Thompson and Drinnon began to dominate the interior over the ensuing minute and a half, as the two were fouled and sent to the line for six-straight freebies to pull the hosts within three points, 55-52, with 3:17 to play. Drinnon hit a jumper in the paint, and then Thompson swished a trey to cap off an 11-0 run to hand SFU its first lead of the night, 57-55, at the 2:07 mark.

Sophomore Hunter Ware (Powder Springs, Ga.) banged in a jumper from the foul line extended on the following Bulldogs' possession to tie the action at 57 all with 1:50 to go. Drinnon was able to return the edge back in the Red Flash's favor with a layup at the 1:14 mark.

Trailing by two, 59-57, with 20 seconds on the clock, Oakley Jr. drove to the basket and laid it in with his strong hand, but the senior was whistled for the charge. It was one of three cough ups for the Bulldogs over the final minute, as the hosts converted four free-throw attempts and closed out the game on a 6-0 run to deliver Bryant its sixth-consecutive defeat.

The Bulldogs will wrap up their four-game road stint just two hours west in Moon, Pa., as they battle their conference nemesis, Robert Morris. The contest with the Colonials is set for 4:00 p.m. on Saturday at the Charles L. Sewall Center.