Bryant rides strong start to win over UAlbany, 87-62

TROY, N.Y. – Sherif Gross-Bullock scored the first 12 points and finished with 23 as the Bryant University men's basketball team defeated UAlbany, 87-62, on Wednesday night at the McDonough Sports Complex.

With the victory, the Bulldogs have won three in a row and are 16-8 overall and 7-4 in the America East. The win also completed a season sweep of the Great Danes.

Gross-Bullock poured in the first 12 points of the game, finished the first half with 17 and closed the night with 23. He was 8-of-15 from the field and 4-of-8 from three. SGB added three rebounds and five assists. Earl Timberlake posted eight points and 12 boards, while Antwan Walker had 15 points, six boards and three blocks. Charles Pride (12) and Tyler Brelsford (11) gave Bryant four in double figures.

Game Information
Bryant 82, UAlbany 50
Records: Bryant 16-8, 7-4 AE | UAlbany 6-20, 1-10
Location: McDonough Sports Complex (Troy, N.Y.)
Attendance: 450

Key Moments

• Gross-Bullock opened the game with an individual 12-0 run to spark the Bulldogs on Wednesday night.

How it Happened

• Gross-Bullock got his night going early, slicing to the rack for the first points of the game. It was the start of things to come as SGB canned a three from the wing, completed a three-point play down the lane, slammed one home in transition and hit a pull up to make it 12-0.
• Bryant followed SGB's lead, making 7-of-13 from the field in the first seven minutes. Gross-Bullock scored 14 of the first 19 points.
• Walker had a mini 6-0 run of his own in the half as he swished a deep three before finishing an and-one. The and-one came off a transition feed from Gross-Bullock.
• SGB and Edert then swished threes as Bryant led 41-25 at the 3:49 mark of the first half.
• Pride put a final exclamation point on the first half as he crossed through the lane and hit a floater while being fouled, converting the three-point play.
• Bryant led 51-27 at the break. The Black and Gold held UAlbany to 9-of-29 (31.0 percent) from the field and 2-of-13 from three in the first half.
• Walker provided two of the biggest dunks of the season within a minute of each other early in th second half. The first came in transition as Timberlake stole the ball, raced down the court and fired a bounce pass to Walker who hammered it home one-handed. Moments later, Walker found himself wide open in the front court and sized up a windmill dunk that led to a UAlbany timeout.
• A three from Brelsford and back-to-back threes by SGB gave Brynat a 75-44 lead at the 7:43 mark of the second half.
• Bryant was able to finish it out from there.

Stats

• Bryant finished the game 29-of-59 (49.2 percent) from the field, 10-of-25 (40.0 percent) from three and 19-of-22 (86.4 percent) from the line.
• Bryant held a 39-36 edge on the glass and a 36-30 edge in the paint.
• Gross-Bullock led Bryant with 23 points on 8-of-15 shooting. He was 4-of-8 from three and added three boards and five assists.
• Timberlake collected eight points, 12 rebounds, four assists and two blocks.
• Walker chipped in 15 points (5-of-9), six rebounds and three blocks.
• Pride posted 12 points, three boards and two steals.
• Brelsford added 11 points (2 3s, 5-of-6 FT), two boards, two assists and two steals.
• Cramer had six points and six boards off the bench. Josh Ozabor also added six points off the  the bench.

Game Notes

• Bryant swept the season series from UAlbany, winning on the road for the first time in the series. The Bulldogs are 2-3 all-time against the Great Danes.
• Bryant snapped a two-game losing streak on the road.
• Bryant's 51 first-half points marked its first 50-point half since it scored 56 against Detroit Mercy earlier this year.
• Pride now has 1,475 points and 716 rebounds in his career.
• Pride has now scored in double-figures in 74 times in his career.
• With two steals, Pride now has 140 in his career, tying Ikenna Ndugba for the most in DI program history.
• Pride has now made 78-of-89 (.881) from the line this year, the best in the America East.
• Pride has now made 23-of-46 (.511) from three over his last eight games.
• Gross-Bullock finished in double figures for the 20^th time this season and the 42^nd time in his career.
• Gross-Bullock posted his 8^th 20-point game of the year and the 11^th of his career.
• Gross-Bullock is the leading scorer in the America East with 16.7 ppg.
• Timberlake collected double-digit rebounds for the third-straight game.
• Walker finished in double-figures for the 17^th time this season and the 39^th time in his career.
• Walker is now 6-of-8 from three over the last two games.

Up Next
The Bulldogs wrap up their two-game road swing on Saturday afternoon at UMBC. Tip is set for 1:02 p.m.