Bryant defeats Dartmouth to improve to 8-4

HANOVER, N.H. – Redshirt-junior Ikenna Ndugba (Boston, Mass.) tallied 14 points and five assists and redshirt-junior Hall Elisias (Valley Stream, N.Y.) grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds along with six blocked shots as the Bryant University men's basketball team battled to a 64-60 victory at Dartmouth Saturday afternoon for its fourth-straight victory.

Bryant's eight non-conference wins match the 2013-14 Bulldogs for the most in Division I program history and the 8-4 record matches the 2012-13 team for the best 12-game start to a season. The Bulldogs are one of six teams in the nation with four true road wins at this point in the season.

GAME INFORMATION
Bryant 64, Dartmouth 60
Records: Bryant (8-4), Dartmouth (7-6)
Location: Leede Arena (Hanover, N.H.)

COACH GRASSO'S COMMENTS
"I'm proud of our guys' toughness and grit in the second half. I thought we shared the ball and got good looks on the offensive end. It's a testament to our guys' defensive effort to hold a really good offensive team to 29% shooting in the second half.

KEY MOMENTS

• Bryant hit four three-pointers in a two-minute, 14-second stretch to grab a 34-29 advantage late in the first half.
• The Bulldogs scored eight straight points to turn a one-point deficit into their largest lead of the afternoon at 60-53 with 5:01 to go. Bryant would lead for the remainder of the game.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Six points from Grant and five from Ndugba got Bryant off to an 11-6 start with 16:43 remaining in the first half.
• Dartmouth responded with an 8-0 run to go ahead 14-11 and led 22-19 before freshman Michael Green III (Bronx, N.Y.) hit a three to tie the game with 7:48 to play in the half.
• The Big Green answered with the next seven before Bryant ripped off a 12-0 run in a span of 2:14, all from distance, to lead 34-29 after back-to-back threes from junior Mikail Simmons (Murphy, Texas) and prompt a Dartmouth timeout with 3:49 to go in the half.
• Dartmouth used a 7-0 stretch to retake the lead before a Green layup beat the halftime buzzer and put Bryant back in front at 38-37.
• Dartmouth scored nine straight points early in the second half to gain a 48-43 advantage on a three-point play before Bryant answered with six straight to retake the lead with 14:07 to play.
• An 8-0 Bryant run gave Bryant its largest lead of the game at 60-53 with 5:01 remaining in the contest.
• The Big Green cut the deficit to two at 62-60 before freshman Benson Lin (New Taipei City, Taiwan) hit two clutch free throws with 18 seconds for the final margin.

STATS

• Ndugba was 6-of-10 from the floor and 2-for-2 from beyond the arc.
• Green added 13 points, three shy of his career-high.
• Lin and Simmons each chipped in 12 points.
• Elisias' 13 rebounds were a career-best as a Bulldog and matched his LIU Post high of 13 set in 2016.
• Bryant shot 12-for-27 from three (44.4%), while Dartmouth was 3-for-17 on the night and 0-for-7 in the second half.
• The Bulldogs were outrebounded 44-28.

GAME NOTES

• The freshman trio of Green, Lin and Charles Pride (Syracuse, N.Y.) has combined for 17 games in double-figures this season. Green and Lin both recorded their sixth of the year Saturday.
• Elisias is one of three players in the nation this season 13 rebounds, six blocks and two steals in a game.
• Bryant is one of six teams in the nation with four true road wins, joining DePaul, ETSU, Furman, William & Mary and Yale.
• Elisias moved into a tie for sixth in D1 career history with Ben Altit with 37 blocks. The redshirt-junior from Long Island is averaging 3.1 blocks per game this season and 5.8 in the month of December.
• Ndugba recorded his 115^th career steal, moving within one of Corey Maynard for second in the program's D1 era.
• Bryant improves to 5-4 all-time against Dartmouth and 12-34 vs. the Ivy League. The Bulldogs went 3-1 against Ivy League competition this season.

UP NEXT
The Bulldogs will return from a holiday break to face No. 7 Maryland Sunday, Dec. 29, in College Park, Maryland. The noon tip can be seen on Big Ten Network. 

Bryant Men's Basketball 2019-20 season tickets are available by clicking HERE. The Bulldogs will return home Thursday, Jan. 2 vs. Saint Francis U in Bryant's NEC opener.

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