Bulldogs host FDU Saturday; Bryant to host pregame Veterans Gathering

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University men's basketball team continues a four-game homestand Saturday when the Bulldogs host Fairleigh Dickinson at the Chace Athletic Center in the first meeting of the year between the two teams.

Bryant University Athletics is partnering with Bryant Veterans Professional Network to host the first of many Veterans Gatherings. The goal of these events is to provide networking and engagement opportunities for veterans on the Bryant campus, as well as veterans from around the state.

Veterans and active military are invited to claim up to four complimentary tickets for Saturday's game by clicking HERE. Bryant Athletics will host an exclusive reception for veterans prior to tip-off with food and beverage catered by Sodexo.

THE PARTICULARS
Opponent: Fairleigh Dickinson
Game Time: Saturday, Jan. 27 – 1 p.m.
Tickets: BryantBulldogs.com
Watch Live: NEC Front Row (Jon Wallach, Tristan Hobbes)
Listen Live: WOON 1240 AM (Jon Wallach, Tristan Hobbes)
Live Stats: BryantBulldogs.com
Game Notes: Bryant 

SCOUTING THE KNIGHTS
Fairleigh Dickinson is eighth in the NEC at 3-6 after a 76-70 home loss to St. Francis Brooklyn Thursday. The Knights' three NEC wins have been over LIU Brooklyn, Central Connecticut and Mount St. Mary's. 

Darian Anderson averaged a team-high 14.1 points per game in 15 contests but will miss the remainder of his senior season due to injury. Mike Holloway Jr. has averaged 13.7 points and 7.1 rebounds for the Knights, while Darnell Edge has added 12.6 points per game.

THE SERIES
The Bulldogs are 8-7 against the Knights in the Division I era but 6-3 in their last nine meetings. Both teams were victorious at home last season with Bryant winning 73-72 in overtime in the meeting in Smithfield. 

LAST TIME OUT: CENTRAL CONNECTICUT 80, BRYANT 74
Bryant hit a season-high 13 three-pointers but was unable to finish off a second-half comeback bid in an 80-74 setback Thursday at the Chace Athletic Center. Senior Bosko Kostur (Melbourne, Australia) and sophomore Ikenna Ndugba (Boston, Mass.) had 22 points each. 

MONTY ENJOYING NEC PLAY
Freshman Monty Urmilevicius (Kaunas, Lithuania) has given the Bulldogs a lift against NEC competition, averaging 7.3 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. Urmilevicius has scored 10 points three times in NEC play and recorded his first-career double-double Thursday vs. Central Connecticut with a career-best 11 rebounds. 

Urmilevicius ranks third in the NEC in conference play in offensive rebounds per game (3.3) while shooting 53.7 percent from the floor (22-of-41.)

SOME GENERAL STATS ON GRANT
Sophomore Adam Grant (Franklin, Va.) has averaged 17.4 points per game on the year with nine 20-point games, including six of his last seven. The sophomore guard is averaging 22.8 points per game in the month of January. 

Grant hit nine three-pointers at Mount St. Mary's (1/4), tying his own Division I program record set last year against Sacred Heart. The 29-point performance came 10 years to the week after the first game of nine three-pointers by a Bulldog, as Peter Lambert drained nine threes against Merrimack Jan. 2, 2008, in Bryant's final Division II season.

BOSKO GETS BUCKETS
Senior Bosko Kostur has been efficient from both inside and outside the arc this season. Kostur is shooting 47.6 percent on two-pointers and 46.3 percent from three in addition to 83.3 percent from the free-throw line. 

WE LIKE IKE
Sophomore Ikenna Ndugba has raised his scoring average from 6.0 points per game as a freshman to 13.6 as a sophomore. Ndugba is averaging 21.8 points per game over his last four games with 22 or more points in three of the four. 

Ndugba has two double-doubles on the year: a 16-point, 10-rebound outing at Hartford (11/24) and a 17-point, 11-assist performance at Memphis (12/9).

Ndugba passed Alex Francis for fourth in Bryant's Division I era in assists in the game at Albany (12/6) and now has 236 in his career.

WARE RISING IN RECORD BOOK
Senior Hunter Ware (Powder Springs, Ga.) has climbed into the top five in Bryant's Division I history with 95 steals and is in the top 10 in assists with 123. 

Ware is averaging 4.8 rebounds per game in six contests since returning to the starting lineup at Sacred Heart (1/6).

SOPHOMORES TAKING THE NEXT STEP
Bryant's sophomore class - Adam Grant, Tanner Johnson (Lexington, Ky.), Ikenna Ndugba and Sabastian Townes (Chesapeake, Va.) - has accounted for 57.4 percent of the team's scoring in 2017-18. All four have elevated their points per game averages from a year ago, while Grant (17.4 ppg), Ndugba (13.6) and Townes (12.1) are the Bulldogs' top three scorers. 

KOSTUR NAMED TO 3X3U WATCH LIST
Senior Bosko Kostur was named to the Early Season Watch List for the inaugural Intersport 3X3U National Championship to be held in San Antonio during Final Four weekend. The tournament will feature a team of graduating seniors from each of the 32 Division I conferences in a three-day event March 30-April 1. 

BULLDOGS LEAD NATION IN LINEUP COMBINATIONS
Bryant has used 14 different starting lineup combinations this season, which is tied with Pitt for the most nationally entering the weekend. The Bulldogs have started 12 different players this season, with only Ikenna Ndugba (21) and Adam Grant (18) starting in at least 15 of Bryant's 22 games. 

NEXT UP: ST. FRANCIS BROOKLYN
Bryant continues its four-game homestand Thursday when the Bulldogs host St. Francis Brooklyn at the Chace Athletic Center. The Bulldogs and Terriers will square off at 7 p.m. Tickets are available at bryantbulldogs.com/tickets or by calling 401-319-TIXX. The game can be seen on NEC Front Row and heard on WOON 1240 AM with Cam Boon and Tristan Hobbes.

Tickets for the 2017-18 Bryant University men's basketball season are available by clicking HERE or calling (401) 319-TIXX. 

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