Tuesday matinee at Fordham up next for Bryant
BRONX, N.Y. - The Bryant University men's basketball team looks for its first win over an Atlantic 10 opponent when the Bulldogs face Fordham in a Tuesday matinee in the Bronx.
Bryant, which is tied for the most wins in the NEC and in the state of Rhode Island at 6-4 entering Tuesday, faces the Rams in head coach Jared Grasso's return to Rose Hill Gym after serving as Fordham's interim head coach 10 years ago.
The Particulars
Opponent: Fordham
Location: Rose Hill Gym (Bronx, N.Y.)
Date and Time: Tuesday, Dec. 10 – 12 p.m.
Watch: ESPN+ (Mike Watts, Mack Rosenberg)
Live Stats: Sidearm Stats
Game Notes: Bryant
Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | #12Seven4 | #NECMBB
SCOUTING THE RAMS
Fordham is 5-3 on the year after falling 54-53 in overtime to Manhattan in Saturday's Battle of the Bronx. The Jaspers hit a game-winning three-pointer with 3.2 seconds remaining for the decisive basket.
The Rams are 2-0 on the year against the NEC with a 68-59 opening-night win over St. Francis Brooklyn followed by a 53-50 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson. Fordham has played five games at Rose Hill Gym and three in the Virgin Islands to begin 2019-20.
The duo of Chuba Ohams (11.9 ppg) and Antwon Portley (11.3) leads Fordham offensively. Ohams has collected a team-high 8.8 rebounds per contest. The Rams are 10th in the nation in points per game allowed at 56.3.
THE SERIES
The Bulldogs and Rams are meeting for the first time in the programs' histories Tuesday. Bryant is 0-2 against the Atlantic 10 in its D1 era, falling to Rhode Island in last year's season opener and Richmond in the 2013 CBI.
LAST TIME OUT: BRYANT 67, COLUMBIA 65
Junior Mikail Simmons (Murphy, Texas) stole a Columbia pass and took it the other way for a dunk with seven seconds remaining to lift Bryant to a victory Friday night at the Chace Athletic Center. Senior Adam Grant (Franklin, Va.) scored 20 points to lead Bryant.
SIMMONS' STEAL AND SLAM FOR THE WIN
The final two of Simmons' career-high 12 points proved to be the difference in Friday's win over Columbia. Simmons stole the ball, ran the length of the floor with a behind-the-back dribble to elude a Columbia player, and dunked the ball while being fouled with 7.8 seconds remaining for the victory.
Simmons' performance earned him the No. 6 play Friday night and Saturday morning on SportsCenter.
40-MINUTE GAME
The Bulldogs have delivered in the entertainment factor in head coach Jared Grasso's first 40 games at Bryant.
Five of Bryant's first 10 games this season (Brown, Rutgers, Cornell, New Hampshire, Columbia) have come down to a final possession of regulation in which a team tied or trailing had an opportunity to win the game. In all five contests, the game-winning shot did not fall.
Friday's win was the third time in the last two seasons Bryant was tied or trailing in the final minute and came away with a victory. Game-winning three-pointers from SaBastian Townes (Chesapeake, Va.) with 18 seconds remaining vs. Dartmouth and nine seconds to go against Central Connecticut were good for two of the Bulldogs' home victories last season and Simmons' steal-and-score with seven seconds to play Friday joined the list.
HELLO, MY FRIEND, WE MEET AGAIN
While Bryant has never before faced Fordham, Bulldogs head coach Jared Grasso is familiar with Rose Hill Gym. Grasso led the Rams for 23 games as interim head coach in 2009-10. The second game of that tenure, a 93-77 win over Stony Brook for Grasso's first career victory, was played 10 years ago Sunday.
BOARD MAN GETS WINS
Sophomore Patrick Harding (Fairfield, Conn.) is averaging 11.2 rebounds per game over his first 10 games of 2019-20 and ranks eighth in the nation in rebounding average.
Harding has collected 32.6% of potential defensive rebounds while on the floor this season, good for sixth nationally as of Sunday.
HALL MONITOR
Redshirt-junior Hall Elisias (Valley Stream, N.Y.) has tallied 14 blocks over his last two games with eight vs. Navy and six against Columbia. Joined by a six-block performance at Rutgers, Elisias has recorded three of Bryant's top five single-game block totals in his first 10 games as a Bulldog.
Elisias has blocked 17.1% of opponents' two-point attempts while on the floor this season, which ranks fifth in the nation.
The 28 total blocks for Elisias this year already rank eighth in a single season in Bryant's Division I era and 10th in the nation this season.
DRESSED TO WIN
Bryant wore its black adidas uniforms - typically the Bulldogs' road set - at home for the first time Friday. The sartorial switch was part of a blackout promotion for students, which proved successful in Bryant's largest crowd since 2015 (1,438) and a 67-65 victory.
NEW DAWG CITY
Bryant's newcomers have provided 51.1% of the Bulldogs' scoring so far this season, including four of Bryant's top six in points per game. Freshmen Charles Pride (Syracuse, N.Y.) (11.4 ppg), Michael Green III (Bronx, N.Y.) (8.5) and Benson Lin (New Taipei City, Taiwan) (8.2) rank second, third and fifth on the team in scoring.
COMPUTER GAMES
Bryant's KenPom ranking of 264 is the program's highest since prior to its game against Siena on Nov. 21, 2015. Bryant's highest mark in the D1 era is 114 on Dec. 7, 2013.
Friday's victory over Columbia (179) was Bryant's first over a top-200 team since defeating Yale (151) on Nov. 30, 2016.
11'S GOOD FOR 10
Grant has scored 10 or more points 75 times in his time in Black & Gold and in all 10 games this season. Grant has scored 20 or more seven times on the year and 30 times in his career.
UP NEXT: DARTMOUTH
Bryant will take a break from game action for finals before traveling to Dartmouth for a game Saturday, Dec. 21 in Hanover, New Hampshire. The noon tip can be seen on NESN and ESPN+.
Bryant Men's Basketball 2019-20 season tickets are available by clicking HERE.
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