Bulldogs downed by LIU in regular-season finale

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – Four Bulldogs were in double figures and freshman Patrick Harding (Fairfield, Conn.) grabbed 12 rebounds, but a pair of second-half runs led LIU Brooklyn to an 81-65 victory over the Bryant University men's basketball team Saturday at the Steinberg Wellness Center.

Junior SaBastian Townes (Chesapeake, Va.) led the Bulldogs with 15 points. Harding's 12 rebounds matched his career-high.

GAME INFORMATION
LIU Brooklyn 81, Bryant 65
Records: Bryant (10-19, 7-11 NEC), LIU Brooklyn (15-15, 9-9 NEC)
Location: Steinberg Wellness Center (Brooklyn, N.Y.)

KEY MOMENTS

• LIU used 12-0 and 15-3 runs in the second half to build an 18-point advantage after Bryant led by three in the early stages of the half.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Six straight points from freshman Joe Kasperzyk (New Haven, Conn.) gave Bryant a 17-16 lead with 7:18 to play in the first half.
• Bryant took its largest lead of the night at 32-26 on a Harding basket with 2:01 to go before halftime.
• An 8-0 LIU run into the half gave the Blackbirds a 34-32 lead through 20 minutes.
• A basket by Hawkins and three by Townes gave Bryant back the lead at 37-34 with 18:44 to play.
• LIU responded with a 12-0 run to go ahead to 46-37 with 15:30 remaining.
• A 15-3 run gave the Blackbirds a 66-48 advantage, prompting a Bryant timeout at the 7:01 mark of the second half. LIU would lead by at least 13 the rest of the way.

STATS

• Townes scored 15 points and was joined in double figures by junior Adam Grant (Franklin, Va.) and redshirt-senior Byron Hawkins (Fort Washington, Md.), who scored 13 points each, and Kasperzyk, who added 12.
• Harding matched his career-high by grabbing 12 rebounds while Kasperzyk added seven, one shy of his career-best.
• Bryant shot 36.4 percent from the field, while LIU shot 45.3 percent.
• The Bulldogs outrebounded the Blackbirds, 42-38.

GAME NOTES

• Bryant falls to 6-14 all-time against LIU Brooklyn.
• Grant became the third player in Bryant's Division I era to score 1,300 career points.
• Townes moved within four points of Bosko Kostur for ninth on the Bulldogs' D1 scoring list and two rebounds of Dyami Starks for 10^th in Division I rebounds.
• Redshirt-freshman Dren Dedushaj (Brooklyn, N.Y.) played two minutes off the bench in his hometown.

UP NEXT
Bryant travels to Saint Francis U for the NEC Quarterfinals. The Bulldogs and Red Flash will meet Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Loretto, Pennsylvania.

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