Bryant begins Brooklyn weekend Thursday at St. Francis
BROOKLYN HEIGHTS, N.Y. - The Bryant University men's basketball team looks to clinch a berth in the Northeast Conference Tournament when the Bulldogs travel to St. Francis Brooklyn Thursday.
The Particulars
Opponent: St. Francis Brooklyn
Location: Pope Physical Education Center – Brooklyn Heights, N.Y.
Date and Time: Thursday, Feb. 28 – 7 p.m.
Watch: NEC Front Row (Pete McCarthy, Barry Rohrssen)
Live Stats: Sidearm Stats
Game Notes: Bryant
Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | #12Seven4 | #NECMBB
SCOUTING THE TERRIERS
St. Francis Brooklyn is 16-13 and 8-8 in the NEC after an 0-2 weekend in Pennsylvania. The Terriers are 10-2 in Brooklyn Heights this season, good for the best home record of any NEC team.
Jalen Jordan ranks eighth in the NEC in scoring at 15.4 points per game, while Glenn Sanabria (12.6) and Chauncey Hawkins (11.5) are also averaging double figures. Jordan is the NEC's second-most proficient three-point shooter at 42.6 percent.
THE SERIES
St. Francis Brooklyn holds an 11-7 advantage in the all-time series, which dates back to Bryant's first Division I season in 2008-09. The home team is 15-3 in the series.
Bryant is looking for its first-ever win in Brooklyn Heights, which would complete the Bulldogs' first regular-season sweep of the Terriers. Bryant opened NEC play this season with a 76-66 victory over St. Francis behind a 28-point effort from junior SaBastian Townes (Chesapeake, Va.).
LAST TIME OUT: BRYANT 81, MOUNT ST. MARY'S 58
All five starters scored in double figures, with all five contributing to a 22-0 first-half run that fueled a Senior Day victory at the Chace Athletic Center. Junior SaBastian Townes scored a game-high 20 points with four three-pointers.
CARDENAS PEAKING AT RIGHT TIME
Junior Juan Cardenas (Medellin, Colombia) has turned up the offense in the month of February, averaging 12.6 points per game on 61.4 percent from the field and 57.1 percent from three. Cardenas has added 6.9 rebounds per game this month.
SOME NOTES IN THE MARGINS
» Bryant's 23-point margin of victory Saturday was its largest against a Division I opponent since Jan. 8, 2015, when the Bulldogs defeated Saint Francis U 80-54.
» The differential was tied for the fifth-largest in Bryant's Division I era against a D1 opponent. Bryant has defeated seven opponents by between 23 and 27 points in its 11-season run in D1: Saint Francis U (twice), Fairleigh Dickinson, NJIT, Vermont, Wagner and Mount St. Mary's.
» The +15 rebound margin was Bryant's best since the 2015 meeting with the Red Flash in Smithfield.
FROM HAMPTON ROADS TO RHODE ISLAND
Junior duo SaBastian Townes and Adam Grant (Franklin, Va.) have led the Bulldog offense this year with Townes seventh in the NEC at 15.6 points per game and Grant ninth with 15.4.
Townes and Grant, who have played organized basketball together since they were 11 years old, have combined for 16 20-point and two 30-point games this season.
BLOCK & GOLD
Junior Juan Cardenas leads Bryant with 42 blocks on the year, good for third in the NEC. In his first season with the Bulldogs, Cardenas has already risen to fifth in Bryant's Division I era in career blocks. Cardenas passed Ben Altit for fifth on the Division I list vs. Sacred Heart.
KEEP IT DOWN
Bryant is 10-1 this season when the Bulldogs hold their opponent under 70 points. Bryant held two of its first nine foes under 70 before doing it nine times in the last 18 games.
UP NEXT: LIU BROOKLYN
Bryant closes the regular season Saturday at LIU Brooklyn. The 4:30 p.m. tip at the Steinberg Wellness Center can be seen on NEC Front Row. The Bulldogs and Blackbirds enter the weekend tied for seventh in the NEC standings.
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