Pride, Moon lift Bryant past Mount, 62-61

Emmitsburg, Md. – Charles Pride scored 32 points and Joe Moon IV blocked a shot at the buzzer as the Bryant University men's basketball team won its eighth-straight game on Saturday with a 62-61 victory over Mount St. Mary's.

With the win, the Bulldogs are now 14-8 overall and 11-1 in the Northeast Conference. Bryant has won eight-straight games and completed a sweep of the weekend trip to Loretto and Emmitsburg.

Following a track-meet on Thursday night, the Black and Gold earned an incredibly hard-fought victory over the Mountaineers. Pride was, once again, right in the middle of it on Saturday. The Syracuse native scored 32 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for his league-leading eighth double-double of the year. Erickson Bans chipped in 11 points and five boards, Greg Calixte had 10 points and six boards and Luis Hurtado Jr. had six assists and five boards in a career-high 39 minutes.

It was Moon, however, that made the biggest play of the night. Mount inbounded from under the Bryant basket with 1.2 seconds left and Moon was able to close out and block a three-point attempt from the near corner. Moon finished three points, two rebounds and a block in 13 minutes.    

Game Information
Bryant 62, Mount St. Mary's 61
Records: Bryant 14-8, 11-1 NEC | Mount St. Mary's 11-11, 7-6 NEC
Location: Knott Arena (Emmitsburg, Md.)
Attendance: 2,784

Key Moments

• Moon was able to preserve the Bryant victory, blocking a three-point attempt as time expired. It was the first block of his career.                 

How it Happened

• Bryant built an early 12-7 lead on Saturday afternoon. Tied 7-7, Pride made a driving layup and Bans followed with a three from the right wing with 14:04 remaining.
• Mount answered with a 12-0 run to take a 19-12 lead with 9:13 to go. Mount made 5-of-8 from the field.
• Back-to-back threes from Pride ended the Mount run and put Pride at 12 points.
• Bans hit his second three of the first half and Greg Calixte added a putback dunk as the Bulldogs trailed 28-23 with 3:30 to go.
• Pride helped close the first-half deficit to five with a three-point play and then a long-distance three from in front of the Mount bench as time expired.
• Pride finished with 20 first-half points, shooting 8-of-16 from the field and 3-of-8 from three.
• The Black and Gold opened the second half with a 12-2 run, grabbing a 43-38 lead with 14:41 to go.
• Bans tied the game at 36 with a pull-up three and Adham Eleeda's only three of the game gave Bryant a 39-36 lead.
• Bans capped the run by grabbing an offensive rebound and finishing off the glass.
• A Calixte dunk and a Pride offensive putback made it a 50-42 lead with 11:20 to go.
• Bryant was able to hold off the Mountaineers thanks to strong free throw shooting from Hurtado and Calixte. The duo each made two free throws to keep Bryant ahead, 60-57, with 2:42 to go.
• A layup from Pride with 2:03 to go was Bryant's last basket but made it 62-59.
• Bryant's defense then held up, getting two stops in the final 10 seconds to earn the victory.   

Stats

• Bryant finished the game 24-of-60 (40.0 percent) from the field, 7-of-23 (30.4 percent) from three and 7-of-11 (63.6 percent) from the line.
• The rebounding margin was even at 40-40.
• The Bulldogs turned the ball over 12 times.
• Pride scored 32 points on 14-of-30 shooting from the field, including 3-of-9 from three. He added 10 boards, two steals and turned the ball over just once.
• Pride played all 40 minutes.
• Bans scored 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field and 3-of-5 shooting from three. He added five rebounds.
• Hurtado had just three points but had six assists and five boards in 39 minutes.
• Calixte finished with 10 points, six boards and two blocks.     

Game Notes

• Bryant swept the season series from Mount St. Mary's with the victory. The Bulldogs are now 11-16 all-time against the Mount.
• The Bulldogs have won eight-straight games and their 11-1 leaguer record is its best start in program history.
• Bryant won both games at Saint Francis U and Mount St. Mary's in the same season for the first time in program history.
• Two days after scoring a DI program record 44 points at SFU, Pride posted a 32-point effort.
• Pride averaged 38.0 points per game and 11.0 rebounds per game in two games this week.
• Pride's 30 field goal attempts are the most in a game in DI program history.
• Pride now has 46 career double-digit scoring efforts.
• Pride now has 922 career points and moved past Cecil Gresham, Dan Garvin and SaBastian Townes and into seventh place in DI program history.
• Pride joins Alex Francis and Corey Maynard as the only players in DI program history with 900+ career points and 400+ career rebounds.
• Pride also posted his league-leading eighth double-double of the year and the 14th of his career.
• Pride now has 476 career rebounds, moving past Maynard and into third place in DI program history.
• Hurtado Jr. has 54 assists and just 17 turnovers in NEC play.
• Bans averaged 10.0 ppg and was 5-of-9 from three in two games this weekend.     

Up Next
Bryant continues its four-game road trip on Thursday night at Sacred Heart. Tip is set for 7:00 p.m. in Fairfield.