Bryant falls to Brown, 81-67; Townes tallies career-high 22 points

Postgame Quotes (PDF)

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Sophomore Sabastian Townes (Chesapeake, Va.) recorded a career-high 22 points, while fellow sophomore Adam Grant (Franklin, Va.) added 18, but the Bryant University men's basketball team was held off by Brown, 81-67, Sunday night at the Chace Athletic Center.

GAME INFORMATION
Brown 81, Bryant 67
Records: Bryant (1-5), Brown (4-2)
Location: Chace Athletic Center (Smithfield, R.I.)
Attendance: 608

COACH O'SHEA'S COMMENTS
"We had a bad stretch down the stretch. We had a two-point lead with seven minutes left and then we missed some free throws. Those are big. Adam Grant's a pretty good free throw shooter but he misses two. We just got on a bad run and stopped scoring. Sabastian Townes was going really well. Give Brown credit - their composure was really good. They shot the three really well tonight and there were just some big plays… we were right there and it just got away from us. We just didn't put any points up down the stretch."

KEY MOMENTS

• Brown led 16-12 before a 10-2 Bryant run gave the Bulldogs a 22-18 lead. The run was started by a three-pointer by senior Hunter Ware (Powder Springs, Ga.) to beat the shot-clock buzzer.
• Brown led 40-36 at the half and led for the first 11 minutes of the second half. Bryant regained the lead on a Grant three-pointer with 8:20 to go.
• The Bears went on a 15-1 run to turn a 59-57 deficit into a 72-60 advantage and closed out the game at the free-throw line.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Brown jumped out to a 13-7 lead at the first media timeout and led 16-12 before a 10-2 Bryant run gave the Bulldogs their first lead. Ware and Townes hit jumpers during the stretch to beat the shot clock.
• The teams would trade the lead a handful of times before a 9-0 Brown run gave the Bears a 38-30 lead with two minutes remaining in the half.
• Bryant responded with six straight points and Brown added two free throws to give the Bears a 40-36 lead heading into the locker room.
• Townes tallied 10 points in the first six minutes of the second half to reach his career-high.
• Bryant regained the lead with 8:20 to go in the second half, as a three-pointer from sophomore Adam Grant (Franklin, Va.) gave the Bulldogs a 56-55 advantage.
• The Bulldogs led 59-57 before the Bears rattled off eight straight points to take a six-point advantage with five minutes to go.
• Brown would close out the game from the free-throw line and finish the contest on a 24-8 run.

STATS

• Townes' career-high 22 points came on 9-of-16 shooting and 4-of-5 from the free-throw line. The sophomore forward also grabbed seven rebounds, one shy of his career-best.
• Grant had 18 points with the help of a trio of three-pointers. Grant added five assists.
• Sophomore Ikenna Ndugba (Boston, Mass.) chipped in 10 points, six rebounds and four steals.
• Freshman Ryan Layman (Wrentham, Mass.) grabbed a career-high eight rebounds, while senior Bosko Kostur (Melbourne, Australia) tallied eight points and a season-high seven rebounds.
• Bryant shot 41.7-percent from the floor, while Brown shot 47.1-percent.

GAME NOTES

• Bryant falls to 2-8 against Brown in the Division I era.
• Townes' career-high 22 points eclipsed his previous best of 19 set Friday at Hartford.
• Grant has 14 or more points in five of six contests this season.
• Ndugba had 10 or more points for the fourth-straight game.
• Layman's eight rebounds were a career-high. Layman has grabbed six or more rebounds in five of six games to begin his collegiate career.
• Kostur's seven rebounds were a season-high.

UP NEXT
Bryant is back in action Wednesday at 8 p.m. when the Bulldogs travel to New Haven for a game at Yale. Wednesday's contest can be seen on ESPN3.

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