Bryant hosts Saint Peter's Wednesday in home opener
SMITHFIELD, R.I. - The Bryant University men's basketball team plays the first of 14 regular season home games when Saint Peter's visits Smithfield for the first time Wednesday.
The first 250 students in attendance at Wednesday's game will receive free Chick-Fil-A. Students can also enter for a half-court shot that, if made, will earn one lucky Bryant student free textbooks for a semester courtesy of Coach Grasso. Bryant students can sign up for both promotions in the Dawg Pound Lounge in the Chace Athletic Center lobby.
The Particulars
Opponent: Saint Peter's
Location: Chace Athletic Center (Smithfield, R.I.)
Date and Time: Wednesday, Nov. 14 – 7 p.m.
Tickets: Click Here
TV: NEC Front Row (Jon Wallach, Chris Burns)
Radio: WOON AM 1240 & 99.3 FM (Jon Wallach, Chris Burns)
Live Stats: Sidearm Stats
Game Notes: Bryant | Saint Peter's
Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | #12Seven4 | #NECMBB
SCOUTING THE PEACOCKS
Saint Peter's is 1-1 on the year with a victory over Lafayette and overtime loss to Delaware. Wednesday begins a four-game road stretch for the Peacocks that will bring them to Bryant, NC State, North Texas and Auburn.
Davauhnte Turner leads the Peacocks at 24.0 points per game and is one of four players averaging double figures, as the quartet of Turner, Samuel Idowu, Cameron Jones and KC Ndefo has combined for 79 percent of the scoring for first-year head coach Shaheen Holloway.
THE SERIES
Bryant and Saint Peter's will be meeting for the first time Wednesday. The Bulldogs went 0-1 against the MAAC a year ago with a loss to Siena in the Gotham Classic.
LAST TIME OUT: SEATTLE 82, BRYANT 59
Redshirt-senior Byron Hawkins (Fort Washington, Md.) and junior Adam Grant (Franklin, Va.) were in double figures in scoring and the Bulldogs made 16 second-half free throws, but Seattle used a fast start to the second half to pull away Sunday night in Kent, Washington.
10 TIMES THE SCORERS
Bryant saw 10 different players score Sunday night at Seattle, marking the first time since Feb. 25, 2017 vs. Central Connecticut that 10 Bulldogs found the scoring column.
LET ME UPGRADE YOU
Wednesday's game will be Bryant's first in the renovated Chace Athletic Center, which features entirely new seating for the 2018-19 season. Bulldog fans will have the option of premium chairback seating on one side of the Chace and new bleachers on the bench side. Both sets of seats replace the wooden bleachers that had stood in the building for decades.
FEELS LIKE THE FIRST TIME
Wednesday is one of four games Bryant will play in the regular season that is a matchup of first-year head coaches. The Bulldogs opened the season against Rhode Island's David Cox, face Saint Peter's and new head coach Shaheen Holloway Wednesday, and will play two games against Mount St. Mary's Dan Engelstad in January and February.
Coach Grasso officially gained his first win as a collegiate head coach while as the interim head coach at Fordham, Dec. 8, 2009 against Stony Brook.
LINE ITEM
Redshirt-senior Byron Hawkins has made 16 trips to the free-throw line through his first two games - a total that leads the NEC entering the week. His 11 makes rank second to Wagner's Romone Saunders.
CLIMBING THE CHARTS
Junior Adam Grant passed Joe O'Shea Sunday for ninth in Bryant's Division I era in scoring with 867 points. Next up on the list is Bosko Kostur, who scored 890 points as a Bulldog from 2013-18. Grant is 28 points away from sixth in Bryant's D1 scoring history.
UP NEXT: NAVY
Bryant continues its long-running series against Navy when the Bulldogs and Midshipmen meet Sunday at 2 p.m. in Annapolis, Maryland.
Season and single-game tickets for home games at the Chace Athletic Center are available by clicking HERE or calling (401) 319-TIXX.
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