Bulldogs battle Seahawks at the Chace Athletic Center, Saturday at 4 p.m.

GAME NOTES

SMITHFIELD, R.I. -- The Bryant University men's basketball team continues its four game home stretch on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. in a matchup with Wagner College.

THE SERIES
Saturday afternoon's contest marks the 12th all-time meeting between the Bulldogs and the Seahawks, with this weekend's visitors holding a 7-4 series edge. Although they trail the series, 3-2, at the Chace Athletic Center, the Bulldogs have won the last two encounters with the Seahawks in Smithfield.

SCOUTING THE SEAHWAKS
Despite owning the best overall record in the league at 15-9, the Seahawks find themselves in third place in the Northeast Conference as they make their way to Smithfield. Wagner is led by a trio of athletic guards that pace it offensively. Sophomore Corey Henson nets 13.9 points per game, converts at a .433 clip from deep and dishes out 3.17 assists per contest to lead the team in all three of those categories. Junior Michael Carey pours in 11.8 points per game with a team-best 49.2 shooting percentage from the field, and he grabs 9.0 rebounds per game to rank third in the conference. Redshirt senior Dwaun Anderson contributes 10.3 points per contest to round out the double-digit scorers on the squad. The Seahawks rank in the middle of the pack on the offensive end, but they hold the league's best scoring defense (64.6) and scoring margin (4.2), while limiting opponents to a conference-low 41.2 percent from the floor. Wagner also posts the NEC's top rebounding margin (5.9), hauling in 39.4 boards per game to rank first in the league.  

TOP DAWGS VS. WAGNER
Junior forward Dan Garvin nets 10.8 points, corralls 7.0 boards and denies over two shots per contest in four career matchups against the Seahawks. Garvin scored 14 points to go along with six rebounds in these two teams' first contest of the year back on Jan. 7. Senior captains Shane McLaughlin and Curtis Oakley Jr. tallie less than 5.0 points per contest in six career battles with Wagner, but the two had strong performances on Jan. 7. Mclaughlin netted nine points and handed out eight dimes, while Oakley Jr. scored 12 points and pulled down six caroms. Collectively, current Black and Gold players shoot 31.6 percent from the floor (38-120) and 65.4 percent from the charity stripe (36-55) against the Seahawks.    
 
BRYANT vs. THE NORTHEAST CONFERENCE  
The Bulldogs are 4-9 against Northeast Conference competition in 2015-16 with an overall record of 47-71 (.398) 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 38-27 record (.584) over the last three seasons. The Black and Gold are 22-12 at home versus the NEC and 19-17 on the road since 2012-13. All-time against current conference institutions, the Bulldog basketball program is 61-88 (.409).

LAST TIME OUT
The Bulldogs trailed by just two points with under five minutes to play in the opening half, but were on the receiving end of a 10-0 run from the Knights, who took a 12-point halftime edge and expanded it into a 17-point lead in the second half before winning Thursday night's contest, 91-77. Freshman guard Nisre Zouzoua tallied a career-high 25 points to head all scorers, going 5-for-10 from beyond the arc. Junior Dan Garvin charted his fifth double-double of the season with 17 points and a contest-best 11 rebounds, and sophomore Hunter Ware added 14 points in the loss. All five Knight starters finished in double-figure scoring, as Mike Holloway paced the squad with 20 points. Earl Potts Jr., Stephan Jiggetts and Darian Anderson scored 17, 16 and 15 points, respectively. Marques Townes pitched in 10 points to go along with a team-leading five assists. Bryant shot 48 percent from the floor (30-62), while FDU shot 54.7 percent from the field (35-64). The Knights outscored the Bulldogs in the paint, 46-34, and turned 18 host turnovers into 23 points.
 
QUICK HITS
» You Can Find Me In the 500 Club: Sophomore guard Hunter Ware scored his 500th career point at the 9:10 mark of Thursday night's game against the Knights, making him the third fasted Bulldog (56 games) to accumulate 500 career points in the program's Division I history. Only Alex Francis ('14) and Dyami Starks ('15) accomplished the feat in fewer contests, doing so in 34 and 46 games, respectively.

» Livin Life In the Fast Lane: The Bulldogs gave up 91 points to FDU on Thursday, but managed to score 77 points themselves, marking the first time that Bryant has scored at least 77 points in a losing effort since Dec. 21, 2013, which was a 108-107 overtime defeat against Delaware.

» Draining Shots, Shots, Shots, Shots, Shots: The Black and Gold splashed in 30 shots from the floor in Thursday's loss to the Knights, marking just the fifth time in its DI tenure that it has lost a game in which it made at least 30 shots from the field. The Bulldogs are 14-5 in such games since becoming a DI program.

» Deceptive Percentages: The Bulldogs lost the Jan. 30 contest to the Red Flash despite holding SFU to a mere 31 percent from the floor and 19 percent from long range. It was the lowest percentage from 3-point land that Bryant had allowed all season and it was the first time the program had restricted an opponent from exceeding 31 and 19 percent from the floor and beyond the arc, respectively, in a game since joining the Division I ranks.
 
» Roller Coaster: After opening conference play winning four of the first five games, the Bulldogs have dropped the last eight NEC matchups. The Black and Gold have not been defeated in eight 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.

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 11.2 and 11.5 points per game, respectively, to rank them fifth and third among NEC rookies, as Pettway nets 14.3 points per contest in conference play, ranking him sixth overall and first among league froshes. The forward-guard combo amasses 22.7 points per effort, and rank inside the top 20 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 12 of the last 15 contests. The Old Tappan, N.J. native leads the Northeast Conference in assists per game with 5.31 and 6.23 helpers in conference play.   

ON THE REBOUND
The Bulldogs have been outrebounded in 22 of their 26 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. Bryant currently ranks 311th in rebounding margin (-4.7) among all DI teams.

LINEUP DANCING
Through 26 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. The cast of senior Shane McLaughlin, sophomore Hunter Ware, freshman Nisre Zouzoua, freshman Marcel Pettway and junior Dan Garvin have earned 16-consecutive starting nods from Dec. 8 - Feb. 6. The Bulldogs have not seen eight or more editions of a starting lineup since the 2011-12 season.

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.

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.

UP NEXT
The Bulldogs remain in Smithfield for a matchup against Sacred Heart on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. Bryant was spurned by a late three in Fairfield against the Pioneers on Jan. 30, and will be seeking revenge of its 72-71 defeat from two weeks ago.