Bryant falls to Sacred Heart, 94-84; Ware scores season-high on Senior Night

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University men's basketball team scored a season-high 84 points, but the Bulldogs were unable to overcome an early three-point barrage in a 94-84 defeat to Sacred Heart Thursday night at the Chace Athletic Center.

Sophomore Ikenna Ndugba (Boston, Mass.) led the Black and Gold with 20 points, five assists and five steals, while seniors Bosko Kostur (Melbourne, Australia) and Hunter Ware (Powder Springs, Ga.) added 15 points each.

GAME INFORMATION
Sacred Heart 94, Bryant 84
Records: Bryant (3-27, 2-15 NEC), Sacred Heart (10-20, 5-12 NEC)
Location: Chace Athletic Center (Smithfield, R.I.)

KEY MOMENTS

• Sacred Heart opened the game up 21-8 behind a 6-for-7 start on three-pointers.
• Bryant led 46-45 before an 18-6 Sacred Heart run that spanned both halves put the Pioneers back up double digits. The Bulldogs would cut it to five at 70-65 before the Pioneers answered and closed out the game.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Sacred Heart used a 4-for-5 start from beyond the arc to lead 14-4 four minutes in.
• The Pioneers would push the lead to 26-13 before three-point plays from sophomore Adam Grant (Franklin, Va.) and redshirt-freshman Brandon Carroll (Brewster, N.Y.) cut it to 30-22.
• Bryant would grab its first lead at 46-45 on a shot by Kostur, but Sacred Heart closed out the half on a 9-2 run to take a 54-48 lead into the locker room.
• Sacred Heart opened the second half on a 9-1 run and pushed the lead to 68-52 with 14:30 to go.
• Bryant would use a 13-2 run to cut it to within five at 70-65 with 10:07 remaining. Sacred Heart responded with a 9-2 run to push the lead back to double digits. The Bulldogs would move the margin no closer than nine the rest of the way.

STATS

• Ndugba scored 20 points on 6-of-9 from the field and 4-of-6 from three with five assists, five steals and three rebounds.
• Ware scored 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting with five rebounds, four assists, one block and one steal.
• Kostur added 15 points and Grant chipped in 12 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals.
• Bryant was 21-of-25 (84.0%) from the free throw line.
• The Bulldogs shot 42.6 percent for the game, while the Pioneers shot 61.0 percent.
• Bryant was outrebounded, 35-26.

GAME NOTES

• Bryant drops to 6-15 against Sacred Heart in the Division I era.
• Ware became the 11^th player in Bryant's Division I history to reach 750 career points. His 15 points were a season-high.
• Ndugba led the Bulldogs in scoring for the eighth time this season, had his sixth game of 20 or more points and 23^rd of 10 or more.
• The Bulldogs committed 10 turnovers in the game, marking the 10^th time this season they limited themselves to 10 or fewer.
• The starting lineup of Ndugba, Grant, Ware, Kostur and senior Gus Riley (Nelson, New Zealand) was utilized for the first time since the opening night game at Georgia (Nov. 10). Bryant has used 17 starting lineups this season and Thursday marked the first time the Bulldogs went back to a starting five used earlier in the season.

UP NEXT
Bryant closes out the 2017-18 season Saturday with a game at Fairleigh Dickinson. The 4:30 p.m. tip can be seen on NEC Front Row.

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