Bryant travels to New Jersey for Thursday meeting with FDU
HACKENSACK, N.J. – The Bryant University men's basketball team hits the road for the final week of the regular season and aims to clinch an NEC tournament berth when the Bulldogs face Fairleigh Dickinson Thursday night in New Jersey.
The Bulldogs will clinch a spot in the conference tournament with a Wagner loss or a Bryant win and a Mount St. Mary's win. With two conference games remaining, Bryant can finish as high as the No. 5 seed, but still must clinch a spot in the eight-team field over the final two contests.
The Particulars
Opponent: Fairleigh Dickinson
Location: Rothman Center (Hackensack, N.J.)
Date and Time: Thursday, Feb. 27 – 7 p.m.
Watch: NEC Front Row (Sitesh Shah, Tom Green)
Live Stats: Sidearm Stats
Game Notes: Bryant
Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | #12Seven4 | #NECMBB
SCOUTING THE KNIGHTS
Fairleigh Dickinson enters Thursday in position to be the No. 5 seed in the upcoming NEC tournament. The Knights are 7-9 in the league and 5-3 in their last eight games after completing a season sweep of Robert Morris Sunday.
The Knights are led offensively by Jahlil Jenkins at 16.1 points per game. Kaleb Bishop has added 13.5 points and a team-high 8.3 rebounds per game for FDU. The Knights rank in the bottom 25 nationally in KenPom defensive efficiency (112.2).
THE SERIES
The Knights hold a 12-8 series advantage and have won the last five meetings. FDU is 5-4 in Hackensack.
FDU escaped the Chace with a 77-73 victory over Bryant in the opening weekend of conference play. The Bulldogs, who were without the services of redshirt-junior Hall Elisias (Valley Stream, N.Y.), were led by a 28-point effort from senior Adam Grant (Franklin, Va.).
LAST TIME OUT: SACRED HEART 83, BRYANT 76
Grant scored 23 points on Senior Day and freshman Charles Pride (Syracuse, N.Y.) added the first double-double of his collegiate career, but Sacred Heart rode a 49-point first half to a win Sunday at the Chace.
RELENTLESS PURSUIT OF PROGRESS
Bryant's 14 victories on the year are good for the fourth-highest win total in the program's Division I era. The Bulldogs won 19 games in 2012-13, 18 in 2013-14 and 16 in 2014-15.
GREEN ENERGY
Freshman Michael Green III (Bronx, N.Y.) is averaging 17.6 points per game over his last five with two games of 20-plus points. All 23 of Green's career high in scoring Friday night came from inside the three-point arc.
Green has won NEC Rookie of the Week in back-to-back weeks, extending Bryant's program record to eight this season.
FRESH PRINCES OF SMITHFIELD
Bryant freshmen Green, Benson Lin (New Taipei City, Taiwan), and Pride rank second, third and fourth on the team in scoring and have combined for 39 games of 10+ points and eight NEC Rookies of the Week, good for the highest total in program history. The rookie trio is the first group of three teammates in the NEC's 39-year history to win multiple conference Rookie of the Week honors in the same season.
COME ON AND SLAM, AND WELCOME TO THE JAM
Elisias has recorded 30 dunks on the season, which ranks second in program history. Elisias' next dunk will match Alex Francis for the program's single-season record of 31 set in 2012-13.
ONE NOT DONE
After a start to the season slowed by injury, senior Juan Cardenas (Apartado, Colombia) has found the same rhythm the forward had for the stretch run a year ago. Cardenas is averaging 12.3 points per game over his last 12 contests with six games of 10-plus points and three of 20 or more.
Cardenas has risen to third on Bryant's D1 career blocks list with 64 rejections, passing Papa Lo with three in the win over Merrimack.
HARD HAT HARDING
Sophomore Patrick Harding (Fairfield, Conn.) became the sixth player in Bryant's D1 history with 400 career rebounds Feb. 15 at Central Connecticut. His 15-rebound effort Feb. 13 at Sacred Heart marked the fifth performance of 15+ rebounds for Harding this season, surpassing the total of four by all other players in Bryant's 12-year D1 history. Cardenas collected the sixth 15-rebound game of the season Feb. 18.
Harding is averaging 9.1 rebounds per game in 2019-20 and ranks third in the NEC. He has collected 31.2% of potential defensive rebounds while on the floor this season, good for fourth nationally.
AG RISING IN THE RECORD BOOK
Grant broke Dyami Starks' Division I record of 281 three-pointers in the Feb. 8 win over Central Connecticut. Grant's six three-pointers Sunday gave him 294 to move within one of Jason Bennett for second on Bryant's all-time list and 29 back of John Williams' career mark of 323.
Grant passed Starks Jan. 30 for second on Bryant's Division I career scoring list. Grant now stands at 1,779 points for his career, besting Starks' 1,691 in his three seasons in Black & Gold (2012-15).
The senior broke Alex Francis' Division I career minutes played record of 4,141 Sunday against Sacred Heart and matched Dyami Starks with his 86th career game in double figures, tying for second behind Francis.
UP NEXT: WAGNER
Bryant closes out the regular season with a trip to Staten Island to face Wagner. The 2 p.m. contest between the Bulldogs and Seahawks can be seen on NEC Front Row.
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