Chace is rocking as Bryant downs CCSU Thursday night

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Peter Kiss posted his fourth-straight 30-point game as the Bryant University men's basketball team defeated Central Connecticut, 75-61, in front of a raucous crowd of 1,575 at the Chace Athletic Center on Thursday night.      

With the win, the Bulldogs have clinched a top two seed in the 2022 Northeast Conference Tournament. Bryant also won its 14th-straight NEC regular-season home game and is 19-2 at the Chace the last two seasons.

Kiss was electric on Thursday, finishing with 36 points on 14-of-24 shooting from the field and a perfect 6-for-6 mark from the line. He also added eight rebounds. Greg Calixte and Charles Pride each finished with 11 point and eight rebounds.

Game Information
Bryant 75, Central Connecticut 61
Records: Bryant 16-9, 13-2 NEC | CCSU 7-20, 4-10 NEC
Location: Chace Athletic Center (Smithfield, R.I.)
Attendance: 1,575

Key Moments

• Bryant used a 13-6 run to turn a seven-point lead into a 14-point lead with 8:14 remaining.                   

How it Happened

• CCSU opened with a 6-2 lead before Adham Eleeda canned a three.
• Kiss would hit an acrobatic three to give Bryant an 11-9 lead with 12:36 left in the first half.
• A conventional three-point play from Kiss made it 16-14 and the Bulldogs would never trail again.
• Kiss ball-faked himself open for a corner three and then finished a pull up in the paint ot make it 29-24.
• Pride then sent the Bulldogs into the break with a transition three.
• CCSU would battle back, hitting back-to-back threes to make it a four-point game with 16:57 to go in the second half.
• Ian Krishnan then hit a three to make it 48-45 with 13:34 to play.
• Pride answered with six-straight points and Erickson Bans turned a turnover into two quick points to make it 56-45 with 10:08 to go.
• Brelsford followed with a transition three from right in front of the Bryant bench to make it a 14-point game with 8:14 to go.
• Bryant closed it out by going 5-of-7 from the field and 6-of-9 from the line over the final 7:00 minutes.

Stats

• Bryant finished 26-of-64 (40.6 percent) from the field, 5-of-21 (23.8 percent) from three and 18-of-24 (75.0 percent) from the line.
• The Bulldogs outrebounded CCSU, 43-34.
• Bryant also held an advantage with 42 points in the paint and 19 fast break points.
• Kiss scored a game-high 36 points on 14-of-24 shooting from the field. He was 6-of-6 from the line and added eight rebounds.
• Calixte finished with 11 points, eight rebounds and three blocks. He was 5-of-7 from the line.
• Pride scored 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds. He added three assists and two steals.     

Game Notes

• Bryant is now 16-11 in 27 Division I meetings with CCSU. The Bulldogs have won each of the last four meetings and swept this year's season series.
• The announced crowd of 1,575 was the largest of the season for the Black and Gold.
• Bryant improved to 9-1 at home this year and 19-2 at home over the last two seasons. The Bulldogs have won 14-straight NEC regular-season home games and are 24-8 against NEC foes at home under Jared Grasso.
• Thursday was also Bryant's 13th league victory, a new watermark for the Bulldogs.
• Kiss recorded his fourth-straight 30-point game and the seventh 30-point outing of the year, the most by a Bulldog in DI program history.
• Kiss posted his 39th double-figure scoring game in 42 outings as a Bulldog.
• Kiss has scored 20+ points 13 times this year and has 20+ points in 10 of his 12 NEC games. He has scored 20+ points in 17 of his 26 NEC regular-season games.
• Kiss has also scored 25+ points in 10 of his last 11 games, including each of his last seven.
• Kiss leads the nation in scoring with 24.5 points per game. Kiss is averaging 27.9 ppg in NEC play.
• Pride now has 966 career points, needing just 24 to join the 1,000-point club.
• Pride now has 508 career rebounds and is averaging a league-best 8.4 rpg.
• Calixte is now averaging 9.3 ppg and 8.3 rpg in his last six games (all starts).       

Up Next
Bryant welcomes Fairleigh Dickinson to the Chace Athletic Center on Saturday afternoon. Tip is set for 1:00 p.m.