Bulldogs fall to LIU on Saturday afternoon

BROOKLYN. – The Bryant University men's basketball team erased a 17-point deficit but was unable to hang on, falling to Long Island 99-88 on Saturday afternoon at the Steinberg Wellness Center.

The loss snaps Bryant's nine-game winning streak. Bryant is now 12-2 in the NEC and 15-9 overall.  

Peter Kiss posted his sixth 30-point game of the year, finishing with 30 points and nine rebounds. Greg Calixte recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 boards and Adham Eleeda had 14 points on 4-of-7 shooting from three. Charles Pride grabbed 15 rebounds to become the third player in DI program history to record 500+ rebounds in a career. Erickson Bans also finished in double figures, finishing with 10.      

Game Information
Long Island 99, Bryant 88
Records: Bryant 15-9, 12-2 NEC | LIU 11-13, 8-6 NEC)
Location: Steinberg Wellness Center (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
Attendance: 600

Key Moments

• LIU rattled off a 15-0 run to erase a 70-62 Bryant lead and make it 77-70 in favor of the Sharks with 7:14 to play.                  

How it Happened

• Bryant would score the first two points on Saturday but the Sharks would find their footing, building a 17-6 lead with 12:36 to go.
• The Sharks would push the lead to 17 on a pair of Alex Rivera free throws with 7:30 to go in the half.
• A Calixte dunk, however, would spark a 17-8 spurt that pulled the Bulldogs back into the game. Bans would score seven-straight to highlight the run, finishing a high floater to make it 41-33 with 3:27 to go.
• Bryant made it a seven-point deficit at half thanks to a deep three from Eleeda and two free throws from Kiss.
• The momentum gained at the end of the half carried over as the Black and Gold outscored LIU 28-13 in the first eight minutes of the second half. The run gave Bryant a 70-62 lead.
• Calixte opened the half with a three-point play and Eleeda hit his second three to make it 52-50 in favor of LIU.
• Eleeda and Ty Flowers then traded threes before the Bulldogs were finally able to pull even.
• Hurtado Jr. was the man, finishing at the rim to tie the game at 62-62 with 12:37 to play.
• Kiss would follow with a three-point play to give the Bulldogs a 65-62 lead.
• Another slashing layup from Kiss pushed the lead to five and Hurtado Jr. followed with a right wing three to make it 70-62.
• Bryant, however, would miss its next six shots and be held scoreless for 4:30 minutes as the Sharks retook the lead with a 15-0 run.
• LIU would regain a double-digit lead before Bryant made one last effort, pulling within five with 2:05 left.

Stats

• Bryant finished 31-of-81 (38.3 percent) from the field, 9-of-35 (25.7 percent) from three and 17-of-20 (85.0 percent) from the line.
• The Bulldogs outrebounded LIU, 51-46.
• The Sharks, however, had 33 fast-break points, 20 points off of turnovers and scored 54 points in the paint.
• Kiss scored 30 points and grabbed nine rebounds.
• Calixte recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 boards.               
• Eleeda made 4-of-7 from three and finished with 14 points, three rebounds and two assists.
• Bans had 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting.
• Pride finished with nine points, 15 rebounds and six assists.     

Game Notes

• The loss snaps Bryant's nine-game winning streak. It also snaps a three-game winning streak against LIU.
• Kiss recorded his sixth 30-point outing of the year, the most by a Bulldog in DI program history.
• Kiss posted his 38th double-figure scoring game in 41 outings as a Bulldog.
• Kiss has scored 20+ points 12 times this year and has 20+ points in nine of his 11 NEC games. He has scored 20+ points in 16 of his 25 NEC regular-season games.
• Kiss has also scored 25+ points in nine of his last 10 games, including each of his last six.
• Kiss leads the nation in scoring with 23.9 points per game. Kiss is averaging 27.2 ppg in NEC play.
• Pride now has 955 career points, needing just 45 to join the 1,000-point club.
• With 15 rebounds, Pride became the third player in DI program history to record 500 in a career.
• Pride joins Alex Francis as the only players in DI program history with 900+ points and 500+ rebounds.  
• Eleeda hit four more threes and now has 74 this season. The 74 threes are the seventh-most in DI program history.
• Calixte recorded his second-career double-double. The 14 points are his most against a Division I opponent this year.      

Up Next
Bryant returns to the Chace Athletic Center for a pair of games this week, beginning Thursday night against Central Connecticut. Tip is set for 7:00 p.m.