Bulldogs claw in second half, but can’t complete comeback in Monday’s 81-77 loss at Eastern Washington

CHENEY, Wash. – Despite 42 combined points from sophomore Nisre Zouzoua (Brockton, Mass.) and freshman Adam Grant (Franklin, Va.) and being a basket away from tying the game four times in the second half, the Bryant University men's basketball team fell to host Eastern Washington, 81-77, in the Sub-Regional round of the Legends Classic.

Following five lead changes through the first six minutes, the Bulldogs (1-3) trailed by just one, 10-9. A Gus Riley (Nelson, New Zealand) layup at the 13:40 mark spring boarded an 8-0 run capped off by consecutive baskets from junior Hunter Ware (Powder Springs, Ga.) to make it 17-10 with 11:21 to go in the first half.

But it would be the Bulldogs' largest lead, as a three-point play from Sir Washington gave the game its sixth lead change before the Eagles (2-2) completed a 10-0 run to take a 20-17 lead at the 8:19 mark. Eastern led by as many as four over the next three minutes, as there was another lead change and a tie at 28-28.

Felix Von Hofe drained the second of two-straight triples for the Eagles to make it 31-28 with 4:51 to play in the first half. It was the start of a 12-2 over a short stretch of 2:44 to give the hosts the largest lead to that point, 40-30. Freshman Ikenna Ndugba (Boston, Mass.) drained a 12-footer from the left elbow for the Bulldogs' first basket in three minutes, as he and Bogdan Bliznyuk traded a pair of buckets to make it 44-35 in favor of he hosts at halftime.

The Bulldogs cut the deficit to three points in the second half twice, but the Eagles kept answering and pushed the margin to double-digits following consecutive threes from Cody Benzel in the left corner and a Bliznyuk layup. Grant ignited a 9-2 Bulldog run with eight points over the next three minutes to make it a 63-59 game with 8:42 remaining.

Six-straight free throws from the Eagles pushed the lead to 10, 69-59, just 1:21 later. The lead did not dip below six over the next four minutes and change, but with just 1:07 to go, Bryant cut the deficit to three for the third time in the half, 73-70, on a Marcel Pettway (North Providence, R.I.) layup.

After a pair of Jacob Wiley free throws, Pettway cleaned up a Zouzoua miss and converted the follow up to make it 75-72 with 31 seconds on the clock. Zouzoua stole the ensuing inbounds and went up for a quick layup, but could not finish the contested attempt, forcing the Bulldogs to foul. The Eagles were able to extend the lead to seven at the line, pulling away and shaving off time just enough to make the comeback become out of reach.   

Zouzoua finished with a team-high 22 points and pulled down a team-best 5 rebounds, while Grant netted a career-best 20 points on 6-of-11 shooting, 16 coming in the second half. Ndugba added 11 points, three rebounds and three assists.

Bliznyuk finished with a contest-best 32 points on 11-of-15 shooting and a perfect 8-for-8 effort at the line to go along with seven caroms. Wiley tallied 18 points and a contest-best nine rebounds, as he drained 10 shots from the charity stripe and Benzel chipped in 12 off the bench. The big difference in the game came at the line, as the Eagles were fouled 28 times and hit 30 free throws compared to Bryant's 16.

The Bulldogs will play Louisiana-Monroe in the Legends Classic Sub-Regional Round on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. eastern time.