Oakley Jr. scores season high 16 points in Bulldogs’ 89-71 loss to Colonials, Saturday in Moon Township

MOON TOWNSHIP, PA. – After grabbing an 11-4 lead just four minutes into the contest, the Bryant University men's basketball team was outscored by 23 points the rest of the way, as Robert Morris took control in the second half, winning Saturday's Northeast Conference tilt, 89-71, Saturday at the Charles L. Sewall Center.

Freshman guard Nisre Zouzoua (Brockton Mass.) guided the Bulldogs (7-18, 4-8 NEC) offensively with 17 points on a 6-for-12 effort from the floor, and he netted a game-high three treys. Senior guard Curtis Oakley Jr. (South Euclid, Ohio) poured in a season-high 16 points off the bench, and frosh bigman Marcel Pettway (North Providence, R.I.) added 11 points and five boards.

Billy Giles and Isaiah Still charged the Colonials (7-18, 57) as the contest's two leading scorers with 23 and 22 points, respectively. Giles pulled down 10 boards, which finished second to Rodney Pryor who had 11 caroms and 14 points in the win.

The Bulldogs shot 46.4 percent from the floor (26-56) and 26.3 percent from long range (5-19). The Colonials shot a mere 26.7 percent from beyond the arc (4-15), but netted 55 percent of their shots from the field (33-60).

The Bulldogs attained their 11-4 advantage at the 16:06 mark thanks to 5-0 start to the action. The Colonials went on an 8-2 run that was kickstarted by a Giles layup over the next 2:41 of play to make it 13-12. The span turned into a 19-5 host run over a 7:16 stretch that was capped off by a Giles two-handed slam to give the Colonials a 23-16 edge at the 8:50 mark.

Oakley Jr. drained a triple in the corner in front of the Robert Morris bench to cut the Bryant deficit to 23-19 at the 8:25 mark. The Colonial lead did not dip below that margin and got up to as many as nine points over the next four minutes, as they held a 34-30 advantage with 4:28 to play in the stanza.

With the scoreboard reading 38-33 in favor of the hosts, a pair of free throws from Kavon Stewart were followed up by a thunderous left-handed posterizing slam from Pryor. The dunk was smack dab in the middle of a 6-0 Colonial stretch to give them their largest lead of the half, 44-33, with 1:19 left. Oakley Jr. and Justin Brickman (San Antonio, Texas) converted layups over the final 53 seconds to keep the Bulldogs within striking distance at halftime, 44-37.

Sophomore Hunter Ware (Powder Springs, Ga.) intercepted a pass on the opening Colonial possession of the second frame, and the guard fed Pettway for a lay in on the fast break to bring the Bulldogs within five, 44-39, just 30 ticks into the stanza. The hosts retaliated with a 14-2 run over the ensuing four minutes to grab a commanding 58-41 advantage at the 15:22 mark.

The Robert Morris lead remained steady in double figures the rest of the way, as Bryant got no closer than 12 points and trailed by as much as 22. The loss is a seventh-consecutive for the Black and Gold, dropping it to 4-8 in the NEC to sit ninth overall.

The Bulldogs return to Smithfield for the final four games at the Chace Athletic Center of the regular season. The first matchup of the homestand is against Fairleigh Dickinson on Thursday at 9:00 p.m., and it can be seen live on MSG Plus.