Bulldogs head to Staten Island for final regular-season road battle, take on Wagner Thursday at 7p

GAME NOTES

SMITHFIELD, R.I. -- Bryant University men's basketball team looks to keep its hopes of hosting an NEC Tournament game alive Thursday night, taking on third-place Wagner College in their regular-season road finale. The game tips off from the Spiro Center at 7 p.m. and can be seen live on NECFrontRow.com.

THE SERIES
Thursday's contest marks the 14th meeting between the Bulldogs and the Seahawks, with Wagner leading the all-time series, 8-5. Bryant swept the series in 2014-15 and Wagner returned the favor last season, but the Black and Gold have the most recent victory, 77-66, at home back on  Jan. 12. At the Spiro Center, the Bulldogs are 2-4 with an average margin of victory of 1.5 points in the wins.

SCOUTING THE SEAHAWKS
The NEC's third-seeded team ranks first in the league in scoring defense (64.5 ppg allowed), field goal defense (.401) and scoring margin (+2.8) and have dominated on the glass, averaging a league-high 39.7 per contest while limiting opponents to a league-low 31.7 (+8.0 rebounding margin). Wagner is, however, turnover prone (third most) and forces the fewest giveaways out of its competition (12.3/game). Corey Henson leads the Seawhawks with 13.8 points per game and is one of three double-figure scorers. Michael Carey (12.2) and Mike Aaman (10.5) join him and also lead the team on the glass with 8.8 and 6.4 boards per game, respectively. Henson (49, .325) and Blake Francis (38, .452) are the team's top 3-point shooters while Aaman and AJ Sumbry combine for 61 of the team's 94 blocks.

BRYANT vs. THE NORTHEAST CONFERENCE  
The Bulldogs hold an overall record of 56-83 (.403) 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 47-39 (.547) record over the last four seasons. The Black and Gold are 28-17 (.622) at home versus the NEC and 22-24 on the road since the start of 2012-13. All-time against current conference institutions, the Bulldog basketball program is 70-100 (.412).

LAST TIME OUT
The Bulldogs gave up a five-point lead midway through the second half, but took advantage of strong 3-point shooting and opportunities at the line down the stretch to thwart a Saint Francis U. comeback and earn their third-straight victory with a 79-75 win at the Chace. Rookie Adam Grant led the Bulldogs with 18 points off 4-for-7 shooting from beyond the arc (6-10 from the field), while sophomore leading scorer Nisre Zouzoua made up for a lackluster shooting day with strong all-around numbers that included three triples and a career-high four blocks.

QUICK HITS
» Road Rage: The Bulldogs have struggled outside of the Chace Athletic Center this season, going 3-13 away from home and just 2-13 in true road games.

» Home Sweet Home: Conversely, Bryant is 8-5 in Smithfield this season, having gone 3-1 on their just-completed four-game homestand and having now won four of the last five at the Chace. Their current three-game winning streak ties a season high and includes the program's first home win over Robert Morris in seven tries.

» It's all about timing: The Bulldogs are getting hot at the right time. In addition to its three-game win streak, Bryant has won six of its last nine contests and is .500 in league play for the first time all season.

» I think Ikenna: Rookie point guard Ikenna Ndugba has led the team on the glass in three of the last four games, totaling 34 boards and averaging a team-high 8.5 per contest on the four-game homestretch. He has led the team on the glass five times this season.

» Toppling Giants: The league's top rookie scorer could also become the highest-scoring freshman in Bryant's DI history if he keeps up the pace. Adam Grant needs to average 13.0 points per game — 1.0 below his season average — to reset a record currently held by Bulldog great Alex Francis ('14), though Grant will have at least two more games than Francis did to do so. Francis scored 443 points in 30 games in 2010-11, before the Bulldogs were postseason-eligible.

» Defense wins games: The Bulldogs are a perfect 6-0 when holding opponents under 70 points this season.

ZOUZOUA NEARS 1,000 CAREER POINTS
Sophomore sharpshooter and NEC leading scorer Nisre Zouzoua needs just 49 points to become the 36th 1,000-point scorer in Bryant history. Should he do so this season, he would also become the fastest player to reach the milestone in the program's Division I era. To guarantee he bests the current mark, set in 63 games by Alex Francis ('14), Zouzoua will need to average 16.3 points per game — 3.6 points per game below his season average — over the next three contests. One asterisk deserves to be noted, though: transfer Dyami Starks ('15) reached 1,000 points in his career in 72 games but needed just 56 contests to score his 1,000th point as a Bulldog.

In program history, 62 games would mark the third-fastest run to 1,000 points, behind Hall of Famers Dave Sorafine ('76), who scored 1,589 points in 64 contests, and Tom Smile ('67), Bryant's all-time leading scorer with 2,390 points in 83 games.

BULLDOGS CLINCH NEC TOURNAMENT BERTH, LOOK TO SECURE HOME COURT ADVANTAGE IN QUARTERFINALS
Bryant secured its place in the 2017 NEC Tournament last Thursday with an 81-73 home win over Robert Morris, but the Bulldogs are still jockeying for position in a tight field. Third and sixth place are separated by two games with two still to play, and the Black and Gold could finish inside the top four and secure a coveted quarterfinal home game with a pair of wins and a little help from their frie... rivals. This will be the Bulldogs' fourth NEC playoff appearance and fourth in the last five years.

BOMBS AND BLOCKS
The Bulldogs dropped in 13 trifectas in Saturday's 79-75 win  over Saint Francis, getting triples from seven different players. The mark fell just one short of a season high, but those 14 threes came in a triple-OT battle with SHU. It was the fourth time Bryant has hit double-figure 3-pointers this season. Bryant also posted a season best on the block, denying nine Red Flash shots paced by four from sophomore Nisre Zouzoua (career high).

NO SUCH THING AS A FREE... FREE THROW?
The Bulldogs weren't awarded a single free throw attempt until the final five minutes of Saturday's win over the Red Flash, with rookie Ikenna Ndugba heading to the line for the first time with 4:43 left in the game. The Black and Gold would end up going 8-for-12 on the game. Despite the late start, though, it was only the fifth fewest freebies the team has taken this season.

WHEN ONE DOOR CLOSES...
Sophomore Marcel Pettway saw just 16 minutes of floor time Saturday after getting into foul trouble early in the second half. For the second-year bigman, who ranks fourth in the NEC with a .575 shooting percentage, it was the fewest minutes in his time as a starter (53 games) and fewest since a 12-minute outing Nov. 21, 2015 against Siena.
 
...ANOTHER DOOR OPENS
Pettway's limited minutes opened the door for senior Dan Garvin to have his best game of the year, scoring a season-high 12 points on a season-best 6-for-9 mark from the field. He hit double-digit points for just the second time this season (11 at FDU, Jan. 7), adding six rebounds and two blocks in 25 minutes.

DYNAMIC DUO
Sophomore guard Nisre Zouzoua and his rookie counterpart Adam Grant are the league's premier point-producing tandem this season, combining for 33.8 points per game in 2016-17. Zouzoua ranks first on the league ladder with 19.8 points per game, while Grant ranks seventh and is the NEC's top rookie scorer at 14.0 points per outing. The duo beats their next closest pair by 2.0 points per game (31.8; SHU's Quincy McKnight and Joseph Lopez).

JUST ZOU IT
Sophomore Nisre Zouzoua is in the midst of a superb sophomore campaign with an impressive 19.8 points per game to lead the league and sit 41st nationally, while hitting 2.75 triples per game, most in the NEC. He has scored 21 points or more in 14 outings, including a career-high 31 points at Brown on Nov. 28, his second 30-point game of the year. He is one of multiple Bulldogs — and multiple Bulldog underclassmen — who have made their mark on the NEC leaderboards, including top minute-getter Adam Grant and assist machine Ikenna Ndugba (see chart).

SNEAKY SNEAK
Zouzoua has not just been a force on the offensive end this season, as he has matched those efforts on the defensive side. He sits seventh in the league with 1.54 steals per game and recorded six steals against the Pioneers on Feb. 4, the most for a Bryant player in a single game at the Division I level and the fifth-most in program history.

FREE HOOPS
After playing three overtime games in the last seven outings and five OT games already this season, the Bulldogs are among the nation's leaders when it comes to needing extra time to decide a victor. Bryant is one of just 11 Division I teams to have played at least five OT contests this season, and just three of those teams — Eastern Washington, Toledo and Indiana State — have participated in more. Bryant's five OT battles sets a new NEC mark. In the program's Division I era, Bryant has now played in 15 overtime contests and is 5-10 in those contests.

TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT
The Bulldogs have played in some close games this year, and they are 4-8 in contests decided by five points or less. And while Bryant's 73-72 overtime win over Fairleigh Dickinson Jan. 28 marked just the eighth one-point game for the Bulldogs at the DI level (5-3), it was the third such game already this season (2-1).

DEFENSE WINS GAMES: EXTENDED
Bryant is 6-0 this season when holding an opponent to fewer than 70 points. This success has become a trend over the past few years, as the Bulldogs are 44-14 since the start of the 2013-14 season when surrendering less than 70 points. That mark gets even better when limiting the opposition to less than 60 points, where the Bulldogs are 24-7 at the Division I level. The Black and Gold have done so twice already this season, holding Robert Morris (56) and CCSU (54) in the 50s in back-to-back contests in late January, and the Bulldogs have been virtually unbeatable in such games since the start of the 2010-11 season (17-1).

SNIPERS
The Bulldogs set a new Division I record with 15 steals in a triple-overtime thriller against Sacred Heart Jan. 14, nine off the all-time program record. The team is averaging 6.8 steals per game this year and is on pace to break the current single-season DI mark, which is 6.5 set in 2013-14.

ON TAP
Bryant wraps up regular-season action Saturday afternoon with a 1 p.m. Senior Day matchup against Central Connecticut State University at the Chace Athletic Center.