Bryant defeated by Louisville in Gotham Classic; Ndugba tallies 17 points in defeat

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Sophomore Ikenna Ndugba (Boston, Mass.) led three Bulldogs in double figures, but the Bryant University men's basketball team was defeated by Louisville, 102-59, Monday night at the KFC Yum! Center as part of the Houzz Gotham Classic Presented by TicketIQ.

Ndugba had a team-high 17 points, while sophomore Sabastian Townes (Chesapeake, Va.) added 12 and freshman Brandon Carroll (Brewster, N.Y.) chipped in 10 points and six rebounds.

GAME INFORMATION
Louisville 102, Bryant 59
Records: Bryant (1-10), Louisville (7-2)
Location: KFC Yum! Center (Louisville, Ky.)
Attendance: 16,236

COACH O'SHEA'S COMMENTS

"I thought we did a great job competing for the first 16 to 17 minutes and made some tough shots. But there's a certain reality of these games that the talent level and depth of a team like Louisville will wear down a team like Bryant."

KEY MOMENTS

• Bryant trailed by as many as eight points early before cutting the deficit to 31-30 with 5:09 to go in the half. Louisville responded with an 11-0 run to push the advantage to double digits.
• Louisville answered four quick Bryant points to open the second half with an 11-0 run to give the Cardinals a 62-39 advantage 3:08 in.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• With the game tied 5-5, Louisville rattled off an 8-0 run to take a 13-5 advantage and force a Bryant timeout with 17:18 remaining in the opening half.
• The Louisville lead would range from four to eight, with Bryant bringing the deficit back within four and forcing a Cardinal timeout with the Bulldogs trailing 25-21 with 8:19 to go in the half.
• Bryant cut it to one on Townes' sixth field goal of the half at 31-30 with 5:09 remaining in the opening half, but Louisville answered with an 11-0 run to push the lead to double digits for the first time.
• Louisville would take a 51-34 lead into the locker room on 58.3 percent shooting from the floor, while Bryant shot an even 50 percent.
• Bryant scored the first four points of the second half, but Louisville responded with an 11-0 run to push the lead to 62-39 with 16:52 to go.
• Louisville outscored Bryant 51-24 in the second half on 52.9 percent shooting.

STATS

• Ndugba had a team-high 17 points and four assists.
• Townes tallied 12 points and four rebounds, while Carroll recorded 10 points and six rebounds.
• Freshman Monty Urmilevicius (Kaunas, Lithuania) had four points to match his career-high and added two rebounds.

GAME NOTES

• Monday was the first meeting between the Bulldogs and Cardinals.
• Ndugba was in double figures in scoring for the ninth-consecutive game and 16^th time in his career.
• Carroll was in double figures in scoring for the third-consecutive game and is averaging 13.0 points per game in three starts.
• Sophomore Tanner Johnson (Lexington, Ky.) played seven minutes in his return to his home state, recording two points and one rebound.

UP NEXT
Bryant returns home Sunday at 1 p.m. to host Siena to close out its portion of the Houzz Gotham Classic Presented by TicketIQ. Tickets for Sunday's game are available by clicking HERE.

Season and single-game tickets for the 2017-18 campaign are currently available by clicking HERE.

Follow Bryant University men's basketball on Twitter and Instagram to get an inside look at the program.