Bryant falls 83-79 in back-and-forth battle at LIU Brooklyn

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Sophomore Adam Grant (Franklin, Va.) led four Bulldogs in double figures with 20 points, but the Bryant University men's basketball team was outlasted by LIU Brooklyn, 83-79, Thursday night at the Steinberg Wellness Center.

Senior Bosko Kostur (Melbourne, Australia) and sophomore Ikenna Ndugba (Boston, Mass.) added 14 points each for the Bulldogs, while freshman Monty Urmilevicius (Kaunas, Lithuania) matched his career-high with 10.

GAME INFORMATION
LIU Brooklyn 83, Bryant 79
Records: Bryant (2-18, 1-6 NEC), LIU Brooklyn (9-11, 4-3 NEC)
Location: Steinberg Wellness Center (Brooklyn, N.Y.)

KEY MOMENTS

• Neither team led by more than five in a first half that featured four ties and 15 lead changes, as LIU Brooklyn closed the half on a 7-0 run to take a 41-36 lead into the locker room.
• Bryant took its largest lead at 73-68 with 4:08 remaining on a jumper by senior Hunter Ware (Powder Springs, Ga.), but LIU re-tied the game at 75-75 with 2:16 remaining.
• The Blackbirds closed the game on a 12-4 run with six free throws.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Bryant led 6-2 on threes from Ware and Grant before a 6-0 LIU spurt gave the Blackbirds an 8-6 lead. The teams would be separated by no more than three points until the 9:59 mark of the first half, when the Blackbirds extended their lead to 24-20.
• The Bulldogs responded with a three from Grant and layup from sophomore Tanner Johnson (Lexington, Ky.) as the teams traded the lead back and forth until a layup from Kostur gave Bryant a 36-34 advantage with 2:40 to go in the half before LIU closed the half on a 7-0 run.
• Bryant scored the first seven points of the second half to take a 43-41 lead with 17:03 remaining, forcing an LIU timeout.
• LIU led 59-53 before a 9-3 Bryant run tied the game on a Kostur three-pointer at 62-62 with 9:14 to go.
• A dunk by freshman Brandon Carroll (Brewster, N.Y.) gave Bryant back the lead at 67-66 with 6:38 remaining.
• Traliing 68-67, Bryant responded with a 6-0 run to take a 73-68 advantage with 4:08 remaining.
• LIU responded by closing the game on a 15-6 run for the final four-point margin.

STATS

• Grant was 5-of-9 from beyond the arc in his fifth-straight game of 20 or more points.
• Ndugba added eight assists and six rebounds to his 14-point game.
• Urmilevicius matched his career-highs in points (10) and rebounds (8).
• Johnson chipped in eight points with a pair of three-pointers.
• Bryant was 12-of-27 from beyond the arc.
• The Bulldogs shot 46.9 percent overall, while the Blackbirds shot 54.5 percent.
• Both teams grabbed 33 rebounds.
• There were 12 ties, 21 lead changes and neither team led by more than six points.

GAME NOTES

• Bryant drops to 6-11 against LIU Brooklyn in the Division I era.
• Grant became the 10^th player in Bryant's Division I era to score 700 career points. Grant has 705 points in 48 career games.
• Grant's 20-point outing was his fifth-straight game of 20 or more points, eighth on the year and 12^th of his career. Grant has scored 10 or more points 34 times in his career.
• Ndugba was in double figures for the 14^th time this year and 22^nd in his career, while Kostur was for the ninth time this season and 40^th time as a Bulldog.
• The Bryant sophomore class – Grant, Ndugba, Townes and Johnson – is responsible of 57 percent of the Bulldogs' scoring this season.

UP NEXT
Bryant will stay in Brooklyn to face St. Francis Brooklyn Saturday at 4 p.m. The game can be seen on NEC Front Row.

The Bulldogs will open a four-game homestand Thursday, Jan. 25, when Bryant faces Central Connecticut. Tickets for the 2017-18 Bryant University men's basketball season are available by clicking HERE or calling (401) 319-TIXX. 

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