Bulldogs fall to Blackbirds to close out 2016, 74-63, Saturday afternoon in Brooklyn

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – It was a back-and-forth battle for the opening nine minutes, as the Bryant University men's basketball team held a 20-18 lead at the 11:23 mark, but LIU Brooklyn closed the half on a 28-9 run to a 17-point lead into halftime and led by double digits the rest of the way to win Saturday's Northeast Conference contest, 74-63.

Sophomore Nisre Zouzoua (Brockton, Mass.) netted a game-high 23 points and pulled down six boards for the Bulldogs (3-11, 0-2). Freshman Adam Grant (Franklin, Va.) scored 12 points all in the first half, and sophomore Marcel Pettway (North Providence, R.I.) scored 10 and grabbed five rebounds in the loss.

Jerome Frink paced the Blackbirds (8-7, 1-1) with 23 points as well and a contest-best 15 rebounds, as he went 9-for-16 from the floor and 3-of-5 from beyond the arc. Jashaun Agosto tallied 17 points and nine assists and Iverson Flemming added 13 points.  

The high-paced opening minutes featured seven lead changes and three ties. The Blackbirds shot 80 percent and the Bulldogs shot 53.8 percent to that point and held a 20-18 edge following a Grant three 8:37 into the game.  

Agosto gave the Blackbirds the lead once again with a three of his own on the next trip to spark a 10-0 run over a span of just two minutes. The hosts kept their foot on the gas pedal and grew the advantage to as many as 17 by turning the run into a 28-9 stretch in the half's final 10:23 to take a commanding 46-29 lead at the break.

Agosto initiated the scoring in the second half with a deep two to give the Blackbirds their largest lead of the night, 48-29. Immediately after, Nura Zanna was called for two-straight technical fouls, sending Zouzoua to the line for four free throws. He hit all four attempts to ignite a 12-3 Bryant run over the next 3:15 to bring the deficit to just 10 points, 51-41.

But the hosts again extended the lead to 19 points across the next four minutes with nine-straight points. Bryant got no closer than 11 from that point on, as it was unable to string together a run of its own and dropped the final game of 2016, 74-63.

The Bulldogs will open the New Year at home when they host Mount St. Mary's on Thursday at 7:00 p.m.