Bulldogs welcome Salve Regina for Tuesday's home opener at 7:00 p.m.

GAME NOTES

SMITHFIELD, R.I. -- The Bryant University men's basketball team unveils its new squad inside the Chace Athletic on Tuesday night when it hosts Division III member Salve Regina at 7:00 p.m. on NECFrontRow.com (Jon Wallach and Tristan Hobbes). 

THE SERIES
Tuesday's contest marks the fourth overall meeting between the Bulldogs and the Seahawks and the second regular season matchup since Tuesday's hosts joined the Division I ranks. Bryant defeated Salve Regina in the two exhibition games in 2012 and 2010 prior to handing the ocean-state opponent an 82-55 loss in the first regular-season clash back in 2013.     

SCOUTING THE SEAHAWKS
Salve Regina lost three of its top five scorers from a season ago but returns its top point-producer in senior forward Nicholas Bates, who averaged 16.7 per game. Bates also paced the team on the glass with 11.3 boards per game and earned All Commonwealth Coast Conference honors. Junior guard Rodney Morton is back after finishing third with 9.4 points per contest. Senior forward Connor Costello gives the Seahawks a veteran frontline, as he netted 7.4 points and grabbed 5.2 boards per game in 2015-16. Costello and Bates also led the team on the defensive end with 0.9 blocks and 1.2 steals per outing, respectively. Salve is a very young team, however, with nine freshmen on the current roster all eager to see playing time and contribute to the team's success. BRYANT vs. DIVISION IIIBryant is 3-0 all-time against Division III opponents since the start of the 2008-09 season. The Bulldogs defeated Emerson College, 82-69 last season, Salve Regina, 82-55, during the 2013-14 campaign and topped Oberlin, 71-42, in 2010-11.

HOME OF FAME, CLASS OF '55
The Bulldogs are 8-8 in home openers since joining the Division I ranks. But after losing the first four home openers by a combined 55 points, Bryant has responded to take the last four openers inside the Chace Athletic Center, also by a combined 55 points. The Bulldogs defeated Emerson last season, 82-69, New Hampshire, 76-64, in 2012-13, Vermont in 2013-14 (87-64) and the Wildcats again in 2014-15 (72-63). Prior to their jump to DI, the Bulldogs had won six-straight home openers dating back to the 2002-03 season and are 10-4 over the last 14 seasons.

LAST TIME OUT
The Bulldogs hung tough with the Notre Dame for much of the first half in Saturday's season opener in South Bend. After surrendering a 9-0 lead to start the game, the Bulldogs shot their way back and took a 19-15 edge with less than 10 minutes to play in the first half. The Fighting Irish pulled ahead to take an 11-point lead into halftime, and though Bryant cut the deficit to seven five minutes into the second stanza, the hosts dominated inside and sunk 26 of 29 free throws to win, 89-64. Sophomore Nisre Zouzoua dropped 19 points including 16 in the second half, while freshman Sabastian Townes added 16 points and four boards. Fellow rookie Adam Grant netted 13 points and senior forward Dan Garvin pulled down a contest-high 12 rebounds. 

QUICK HITS

» You Can Tell Everybody, I'm the Dan, I'm the Dan, I'm the Dan: Senior forward Dan Garvin may have had just four points in Bryant's season opener at Notre Dame on Saturday, but he also pulled down a game-best 12 rebounds. The 12 caroms are not only the most by a Bulldog in a season opener in the program's Division I history, but they are the most by a Bulldog in a season opener since 2003. 

» Hulk Bash: Sabastian Townes was stellar off the bench in his collegiate debut on Saturday against the Fighting Irish. The rookie had 16 points on 5-of-9 shooting and a 6-for-11 effort at the line. He scored 10 points in the second half and tied sophomore Nisre Zouzoua and Alex Francis ('14) for the most points scored by a Bryant freshman in his debut in the program's Division I history. 

MEET THE PUPPIES
The six-man freshman class is the second largest in Bryant's Division I history, and the largest since 2013-14, which also happens to be this year's senior class. Head coach Tim O'Shea welcomed seven freshmen in 2009-10. Mantvydas Urmilevicius is a lengthy 6-foot-8 forward and is joined by two athletic guards in Ikenna Ndugba and Adam Grant. Guard Tanner Johnson stands at 6-foot-5 and will provide additional scoring from the perimeter, while 6-foot-6 Sebastian Townes weighs in at 240 and is a skilled player on the inside. If those measurements remind you of someone, you might be thinking of sophomore Marcel Pettway, who stands 6-foot-5, weighs 250 pounds and was named the NEC's Rookie of the Year last year. 

NO TIME TO EXHALE
In addition to the season opening matchup with RV/RV Notre Dame, Bryant faces schools across 11 different conferences before diving into Northeast Conference play. The Bulldogs face four NCAA Tournament qualifiers in 2016-17, including three over the first month of the season. The Black and Gold head to Washington for the start of a nine-day roadtrip which begins at West Coast powerhouse Gonzaga on Nov. 18. The Zags are No. 14 and 13 according the AP Poll and USA Today Coaches Poll, respectively, and the contest kicks off a trip that concludes with Big Ten constituent Northwestern the day after Thanksgiving. Bryant returns home on Nov. 30 to welcome NCAA opening-round winner and defending Ivy League champion Yale. December opens with a journey to Ohio University, with the final non-league road test coming at Navy on Dec. 6.   

WHEN THE LIGHTS COME ON
Junior wing Hunter Ware was feeling it when the lights shined at their brightest in 2015-16. Of his four 20-point outings last season, two came in TV games. Ware began the season scoring 24 points against then No. 5/4 Duke on an ESPN3 broadcast, then netted a career-high 26 points at Michigan on Dec. 23 as part of a BIG 10 Network telecast. Ware played at Harvard on ESPN3, at then No. 15/18 Providence on Fox Sports 1, at Wagner on CBS Sports Network, against Robert Morris on ESPN3 and against Fairleigh Dickinson on MSG+, scoring 10, 14, 11, 15 and 14 points, respectively. Strangely enough, his zero points at RV/RV Notre Dame on Saturday marked the first time in his career that he was held scoreless in a game in which he either played more than 14 minutes or attempted more than four shots (was 0-for-6 in 23 minutes). 

LOOKING TO REBOUND 
Bryant outmuscled the Irish on the glass in the season opener, 37-34, marking the first time it had opened a season on the right side of the glass battle in a season opener since becoming a Division I member. The Bulldogs were outrebounded in 25 of their 31 games last season, losing the battle on the glass in each of the first 12 games to begin the year. It marked 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.   

BULLDOGS ANNOUNCE 2016-17 NATIONAL BROADCAST PACKAGE
The Bryant University men's basketball team will be featured on live national and regional broadcasts six times throughout the 2016-17 season, including three times as part of the 33-game NEC TV package. The Bulldogs will appear on ACC Network Extra against Notre Dame to open the season on Nov. 12. Bryant will play against No. 14/13 Gonzaga on Nov. 18 on ROOT Sports and ESPN3 before taking on Northwestern on Nov. 25 as part of a BTN2GO.com broadcast. The matchup at Ohio on December 3 can be seen on ESPN3 and the Bulldogs will then get national exposure during a nine-day timeframe in league action. The team opens its trio of NEC TV contests with a road matchup against Central Connecticut on Jan. 25 (MSG+/FCS) before hosting Fairleigh Dickinson on Jan. 28 on MSG and Fox College Sports. Bryant will then play in the first of two NEC matchups featured on ESPNU when it visits Mount St. Mary's on Feb. 2.

TICKET TO RIDE
Single-game and season ticket packages are available for the 2016-17 Bryant University men's and women's basketball seasons. Fans can purchase tickets online at bryantbulldogs.com/tickets or by calling the Bryant Athletics Ticket Office at 401-319-TIXX.

NO TICKET, NO PROBLEM
Bryant University Athletics and the Northeast Conference are once again affiliated with the Pack Network and 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 90 Bryant University home contests during the 2016-17 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 DVR functionality. Visit NECFrontRow.com for more information and a complete schedule of events. 

BRYANT HOOPS ON WOON RADIO
For the ninth 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.

ON TAP
The Bulldogs embark on a nine-day, four-game roadtrip that begins in the state of Washington and ends in Chicago, as they first take on No. 14/13 Gonzaga in Spocane Friday at 8:30 p.m. eastern time.