Bryant wins fourth straight, tops SFC 85-68 Sunday

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Peter Kiss scored 25 points and Charles Pride had 18 as the Bryant University men's basketball team won its 11-straight Northeast Conference regular-season home game on Sunday, 85-68 over St. Francis Brooklyn.

The Bulldogs have now won four-straight to improve to 10-8 overall and 7-1 in NEC play. Bryant's 7-1 start is its best since joining the league and the Bulldogs are now 16-2 at the Chace Athletic Center over the last two years.

Kiss paced the offense yet again, scoring 25+ points for the fifth time in his last six outings. He added six rebounds and five assists. Pride chipped in 18 points, eight boards and five assists, while Hall Elisias and Greg Calixte combined for 20 points, 11 rebounds and 10 blocks.

Game Information
Bryant 85, St. Francis Brooklyn 68
Records: Bryant 10-8, 7-1 NEC | St. Francis Brooklyn 5-14, 2-6 NEC
Location: Chace Athletic Center (Smithfield, R.I.)
Attendance: 985

Key Moments

• Leading 18-14 in the first half, the Bulldogs ripped off a 25-10 run and outscored the Terriers 33-19 to close the half.             

How it Happened

• Adham Eleeda opened the scoring with a three from the top but the Terriers responded with the next seven to take an early lead.
• Bryant settled down and got back-to-back-to-back threes from Kiss, Pride and Eleeda to take a 13-9 lead. The Bulldogs would lead the rest of the way.
• A three-point play brought the Terriers within 18-14 with 13:04 to go but Calixte started a 25-10 run with an alley-oop finish.
• Kiss then scored six quick points with a pull-up three and a conventional three-point play.
• Bryant then benefited from three more three-point plays as Pride, Elisias and Kiss all finished at the rim to make it 40-20 with 6:38 left.
• Eleeda closed Bryant's 51-point first half with a transition three.
• The Terriers made things interesting, starting the second half with a 15-4 run. The run spanned 4:20 and made it 55-48 in favor of the Bulldogs with 15:12 left.
• Pride stunted the run with a layup and Eleeda turned a rebound into a Kiss dunk on the other end as the Bulldogs turned the momentum.
• Four-straight points from Tyler Brelsford and an offensive putback by Erickson Bans extended Bryant's lead to 71-55 with 9:01 to go.
• Bryant would finish just 4-of-11 from the field but they held the Terriers to 5-of-14 shooting to close it out.  

Stats

• Bryant finished 30-of-64 (46.9 percent) from the field, 7-of-24 (29.2 percent) from three and 18-of-23 (78.3 percent) from the line.
• Bryant outrebounded SFC, 49-45. The Bulldogs also held a 44-30 advantage on points in the paint.
• The Bulldogs turned it over just 14 times in the contest and finished with 16 assists.
• Kiss led all scorers with 25 points on 8-of-21 shooting. He was 3-of-6 from three and 6-of-8 from the line. He added six boards and five assists.
• Pride scored 18 points on 6-of-10 shooitng and added eight boards and five assists.
• Elisias had 12 points, eight boards and five blocks.
• Calixte finished with eight points, three boards and five blocks.
• Eleeda hit three more threes and finished with nine points and seven rebounds.
• Luis Hurtado Jr. had five points, five boards, three assists and just one turnover in 31 minutes.
• Bans and Brelsford chipped in four points apiece.   

Game Notes

• Bryant is now 11-13 all-time against St. Francis Brooklyn, including 9-3 at home. The Bulldogs have won four of the last five against the Terriers.  
• Bryant is now 7-1 in league play, it's best start since joining the NEC in 2008-09.
• The Black and Gold are now 6-1 at home this year and 16-2 over the last two seasons. Bryant has won 11-straight regular-season NEC games at home and is 21-8 against NEC foes at home under Jared Grasso.
• Kiss posted his 34th double-figure scoring game in 37 outings as a Bulldog.
• Kiss has scored 20+ points eight times this year and has 20+ points in five of his seven NEC games. He has scored 20+ points in 12 of his 21 career NEC regular-season games.
• Kiss has also scored 25+ points in five of his last six outings.
• Kiss leads the NEC with 21.9 ppg and is averaging 24.7 ppg in league play.
• Pride now has 42 career double-digit scoring efforts.
• Pride became the 13th player in DI program history to score 800 career points. He also became just the fifth player in DI program history to have 800+ points and 400+ rebounds in a career.
• Pride and Elisias both moved passed Patrick Harding and into fourth place in DI program history. They each have 443 career rebounds.
• Pride is now averaging 17.1 ppg and 9.1 rpg in NEC play.
• Elisias blocked at least five shots for the sixth time this season.
• Calixte registered a career high with five blocks. His previous high was four back on Nov. 16, 2019 when he was at George Mason.
• Calixte has now blocked 11 shots over the last four games.

Up Next
Bryant continues its homestand on Thursday night when it welcomes Merrimack to the Chace Athletic Center. Tip is set for 7:05 p.m.