Bulldogs overcome strong defense and 12-point second-half deficit to knock off Colonials, 59-56

MOON TOWNSHIP, PA. – Despite a season-low 30.4 percent shooting from the floor, the Bryant University men's basketball team turned on the jets and found offense when it needed to, as it overcame a 12-point second-half deficit to pick up a 59-56 Northeast Conference victory over Robert Morris Saturday afternoon.

Sophomore Marcel Pettway (North Providence, R.I.) powered the Bulldogs (6-15, 3-5 NEC) with his second double-double of the year on contest-highs of 18 points and 11 rebounds. Classmate Nisre Zouzoua (Brockton, Mass.) struggled offensively but still netted 11 points and freshman Sabastian Townes (Chesapeake, Va.) scored 11 points in the win.

Dachon Burke led the Colonials (7-14, 3-5) with 16 points on a 6-for-9 effort from the floor to go along with six rebounds. Kavon Stewart tallied 13 points and Isaiah Still scored nine points in the loss.   

It was a struggle for both sides offensively through much of the first half, particularly Bryant, as it went just 11-for-38 from the floor and 0-for-9 from long range through the first 28:24 of the game. The Colonials turned it on late in the opening frame, scoring the final six points to take a 29-22 halftime lead.

Robert Morris extended the run to 15-4 through the first four minutes of the second to take a 38-26 lead. The Bulldogs got no closer than seven over the next five minutes, as a Stewart layup gave the hosts a 45-34 lead with 11:36 remaining.

On the following possession, Pettway received a pass inside from Townes and laid it in, then Zouzoua netted the Bulldogs' only three of the contest (1-15) on the following trip to head a 7-0 run. After a Stewart jumper gave the hosts a 47-41 lead with 9:27 remaining, Zouzoua responded with a jumper in the paint to kickstart an 8-0 run over a 4:36 period to give Bryant its first lead in over 26 minutes.

Stewart drove hard to the rim and got fouled as he laid in a bucket, giving the Colonials a 50-49 lead with 4:40 to play. But Townes and freshman Adam Grant (Franklin, Va.) attacked the rim hard on consecutive possessions, got fouled and each netted a pair of free throws to give the Bulldogs a 53-50 advantage at the 2:56 mark. After Burke cleaned up a miss and got the deficit down to one, 53-52, Pettway did the same on the other end to give his team a 55-52 lead and just over 2:00 to go.

Robert Morris had a couple of chances to tie or take the lead over the next two minutes, but went 0-for-3 from the field and 0-for-2 from deep. After a Burke layup made it 58-56, Pettway netted a free throw to give Bryant a three-point lead with just 10 seconds to play.

Still had a decent look at a triple on the Colonials' final possession, but the shot was too strong and bounced out of bounds with one second left, allowing Grant to heave it down the court to run out the clock.

The Bulldogs limited the hosts to a mere 4-for-14 in the final 11:08 and scoreless from beyond the arc (0-5), while hitting 12 free throws compared to the Colonials' three. Pettway and Zouzoua had nine points apiece during the stretch to lead the comeback.    

The Bulldogs will to keep pace in the NEC standings when it concludes the three-game roadtrip Wednesday against Central Connecticut at 7:00 p.m. on MSG+ and Fox College Sports.