Bryant hosts Brown Sunday evening
SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University men's basketball team plays its second of three non-conference home games Sunday when the Bulldogs host in-state foe Brown at the Chace Athletic Center.
THE PARTICULARS
Opponent: Brown
Game Time: Sunday, Nov. 26 – 6 p.m.
Tickets: BryantBulldogs.com
Watch Live: NEC Front Row (Jon Wallach, Cam Boon)
Listen Live: WOON 1240 AM (Jon Wallach, Cam Boon)
Live Stats: BryantBulldogs.com
Game Notes: Bryant | Brown
SCOUTING THE BEARS
Brown is 3-2 on the year following Saturday's 94-86 victory over LIU Brooklyn. The Bears have also collected wins over Johnson & Wales and Quinnipiac and fallen to St. Francis Brooklyn and Stony Brook.
The Bears' top four scorers are freshmen or sophomores, led by sophomore Brandon Anderson at 20.2 points per game. Junior Travis Fuller has grabbed a team-high 7.4 rebounds per game.
THE SERIES
Bryant and Brown have met in every one of the Bulldogs' Division I seasons. Brown holds a 7-2 advantage in the series and has won the last three, including a 91-90 Bears victory last season on the East Side. Adam Grant (20) and Bosko Kostur (16) combined for 36 points in last year's meeting.
LAST TIME OUT: BRYANT 78, HARTFORD 73
Sophomore Ikenna Ndugba (Boston, Mass.) tallied his second double-double of his collegiate career, while sophomore Sabastian Townes (Chesapeake, Va.) added a career-high 19 points in Bryant's first victory of the year Friday at Hartford. Bryant held off a Hartford squad that went 13-of-37 from beyond the arc.
HE'S ON FIRE
Ndugba is averaging 15.3 points per game over his last three contests with at least 15 points in all three contests. Ndugba had 16 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high five steals in Friday's win at Hartford.
BASH IS BACK
Townes has been in double figures in three of four games this season after missing the Nov. 10 season opener. Townes is averaging 11.8 points and 6.3 rebounds per game this season and had a career-high 19 points Friday at Hartford.
GRAND START FOR GRANT
Sophomore Adam Grant (Franklin, Va.) has averaged 17.4 points per game on the year with 14 or more points in four of five games. Grant has collected 20 or more points six times in his first 37 collegiate games and 10 or more in 25 of 37.
Grant reached the 500-point mark for his career with nine points Tuesday at Rutgers. The sophomore guard reached the mark in his 36th career game, which is tied with Nisre Zouzoua for the third-fastest to reach the 500-point plateau in Bryant's Division I era. Dyami Starks reached 500 points in 29 games in 2012-13, while Alex Francis did it in his 33rd contest in 2011-12.
BK ALL DAY
Senior Bosko Kostur (Melbourne, Australia) has rebounded from a scoreless opening night to average 12.8 points over his last four games. Kostur's 25 points vs. Navy (11/18) were one shy of his career-high.
IMMEDIATE IMPACT
Freshman Ryan Layman (Wrentham, Mass.) has recorded 8.2 points and 5.6 rebounds per game in his first five collegiate contests. Layman tallied a career-high 14 points at NC State (11/14) - his first career start.
10-4
Four Bulldogs scored at least 10 points against NC State (11/14), Navy (11/18) and Hartford (11/24). Three of those players were the same against all three opponents - Adam Grant, Bosko Kostur and Sabastian Townes.
NEXT UP: YALE
Bryant begins a stretch of five straight games away from Smithfield with a Wednesday night contest in New Haven against Yale. The Bulldogs and Bulldogs will square off at 8 p.m. on ESPN3.