Bulldogs head to Staten Island Saturday to face Wagner
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – The Bryant University men's basketball team looks to enter the NEC tournament on a high note when the Bulldogs close the regular season Saturday at Wagner.
Bryant will be either the No. 7 or 8 seed in Wednesday's NEC quarterfinals, with seeding and opponent to be determined by Saturday's league schedule.
The Particulars
Opponent: Wagner
Location: Spiro Sports Center (Staten Island, N.Y.)
Date and Time: Saturday, Feb. 29 – 2 p.m.
Watch: NEC Front Row (Keith Raad)
Live Stats: Sidearm Stats
Game Notes: Bryant
Social Media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | #12Seven4 | #NECMBB
SCOUTING THE SEAHAWKS
Wagner will finish its season Saturday after being eliminated from NEC tournament contention with a Thursday loss at Long Island. The Seahawks had won three straight to stay alive in the playoff race and used a 22-5 run to take the lead late in the second half in Brooklyn, but the Sharks held off the Seahawks down the stretch.
Curtis Cobb leads Wagner with 16.5 points per game, while Alex Morales has added 13.3. The Seahawks have allowed Division I opponents to shoot 38.7% from three this season, which is the seventh-highest rate nationally.
THE SERIES
The Seahawks hold an 11-8 advantage in the all-time series, but the Bulldogs are 3-0 under head coach Jared Grasso.
Bryant picked up a 79-58 win over Wagner Jan. 23 at the Chace, which was the Bulldogs' third victory of 20+ points over a D1 foe in two seasons under Coach Grasso. Senior Adam Grant (Franklin, Va.) led the way with 21 points. The Bulldogs led 26-23 at the half before erupting for 53 points after the intermission.
LAST TIME OUT: FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON 74, BRYANT 72
A furious comeback from Fairleigh Dickinson in the final two minutes spoiled Bryant's bid for its first win in Hackensack since 2016, as the Knights scored the game-winning basket with nine seconds remaining to finish the game on a 10-0 run. Seniors Juan Cardenas (Apartado, Colombia) and Grant scored 17 and 16 points, respectively, for Bryant in the defeat.
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.
The Bulldogs have clinched back-to-back trips to the NEC Tournament for the first time since their three-year run from 2013-15.
COME ON AND SLAM, AND WELCOME TO THE JAM
Redshirt-junior Hall Elisias (Valley Stream, N.Y.) has recorded 31 dunks on the season, which is tied for the most in program history. Elisias' next dunk will break Alex Francis' single-season record set in 2012-13.
ONE NOT DONE
After a start to the season slowed by injury, Cardenas has found the same rhythm the forward had for the stretch run a year ago. Cardenas is averaging 12.7 points per game over his last 13 contests with seven games of 10-plus points and three of 20 or more.
Cardenas has risen to third on Bryant's D1 career blocks list with 66 rejections, passing Papa Lo with three in the win over Merrimack.
CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARDS
Sophomore Patrick Harding (Fairfield, Conn.) passed Joe O'Shea Thursday for fourth in Bryant's Division I history in career rebounds at 427. Harding's 427 career rebounds are 24 back of Alex Francis for the most ever by a Bulldog through the end of his sophomore season.
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 9.0 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 third nationally.
GREEN ENERGY
Freshman Michael Green III (Bronx, N.Y.) is averaging 15.5 points per game over his last six with two games of 20-plus points. All 23 of Green's career high in scoring at St. Francis Brooklyn 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 Charles Pride (Syracuse, N.Y.) 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. All three freshmen have at least 12 games of 10+ points.
UP NEXT: NEC QUARTERFINAL
Bryant will travel to Pennsylvania to open the NEC tournament, facing either Saint Francis U or Robert Morris in a Wednesday quarterfinal.
Follow Bryant University men's basketball on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to get an inside look at the program.