Bulldogs fall to No. 24 Ole Miss on Sunday

OXFORD, Miss. – Sherif Gross-Bullock, Rafael Pinzon and Earl Timberlake combined for 64 points but the Bryant University men's basketball team fell to No. 24 Ole Miss, 95-78, on New Year's Eve.

With the loss, the Bulldogs wrap up non-conference play with an 8-7 record. Bryant will open America East play on Saturday, January 6 at UMBC.

Gross-Bullock led all scorers with 24 points, while Pinzon posted his third-straight 20-point effort with a career-high five three-pointers. Timberlake followed up his triple-double effort with a season-high 19 points and 12 rebounds for his league-leading sixth double-double of the year.

Game Information
No. 24 Ole Miss 95, Bryant 78
Records: Bryant 8-7 | No. 24 Ole Miss 13-0
Location: SJB Pavilion (Oxford, Miss.)
Attendance: 7,934

Key Moments

• Bryant took a brief 7-6 lead in the first half before Ole Miss went on a 13-0 run to take the lead for good.

How it Happened

• Ole Miss scored the first four points on Sunday before the Black and Gold battled back to take the lead, 7-6.
• Gross-Bullock finished at the rim and Timberlake hit a floater to give the Bulldogs the lead at the 15:26 mark.
• The Rebels, however, responded with a 13-0 run to take a 19-7 lead at the 12:29 mark.
• Gross-Bullock and Pinzon then shot Bryant back into the game. SGB scored four points before Pinzon hit back-to-back threes to make it 17-29.
• Pinzon then hit a three off an inbounds play and SGB followed with a transition three to make it a 10-point game, 25-35, with 2:39 left.
• Bryant's three-point barrage continued as Timberlake found Withers for a three, pulling the Black and Gold within nine, 28-37, with 1:54 left.
• The Black and Gold would get the deficit to eight before the Rebels pushed it back to 11 prior to the break.
• Pinzon and SGB would each finish with 11 in the first 20 minutes but Bryant shot just 30.6 percent (11-of-36) from the field.
• The Rebels started the second half 1-of-6 from the field but answered by making 4-of-5 to open a 54-37 lead with 15:36 left.
• SGB and Pinzon got Bryant back in the game with a trio of trifectas. SGB canned a triple and then Pinzon knocked down consecutive threes to make it 49-62 with 12:14 left.
• Doug Edert was then left open and swished a three from the corner to pull Bryant within 13 at 8:07.
• Bryant would make it a 10-point game as Withers made an incredible baseline bounce pass to SGB for a corner three at the 7:38 mark.
• Ole Miss would outscore Bryant 15-7 over the next three minutes to build a 85-67 lead.
• Bryant, however, scored the next five. Timberlake made it a 13-point game at the under-4 with a strong finish inside.
• Timberlake would complete his sixth double-double of the year with a two-handed putback slam.

Stats

• Bryant finished 29-of-69 (42.0 percent) from the field, 12-of-30 (40.0 percent) from three and 8-of-17 (47.1 percent) from the line.
• Ole Miss held a 44-34 edge in rebounding. Bryant finished with a 9-8 advantage in offensive rebounds.
• Gross-Bullock led all scorers with 24 on 9-of-20 shooting from the field and 4-of-9 from three. He also added five assists.
• Pinzon finished with 21 on a 5-of-12 mark from three.
• Timberlake posted 19 points, 12 rebounds and four assists. He was 8-of-10 from the field.
• Withers finished with three points, six rebounds and three assists.

Game Notes

• Bryant and Ole Miss were meeting for the first time in program history.
• The Bulldogs faced a top 25 opponent for the second time this season.
• Bryant hit 10+ three-point field goals for the third-straight game and for the fourth time in five outings.
• Timberlake finished in double figures for the 12th time this year and the 39^th time in his career.
• Timberlake posted his second-straight double-double. He has six double-doubles on the year and the 15 in his career. Timberlake leads the America East in double-doubles.
• Pinzon scored in double figures for the 11th time this year and the 18^th time in his career.
• Pinzon recorded his third-straight 20-point game and his fourth of the season.
• Pinzon hit a career-high five three-pointers. He is now 12-of-25 from three the last three games.
• Gross-Bullock posted his fifth 20-point game of the season and the 19th of his career. He has 20+ points in each of his last two. SGB posted his 57^th career double-figure scoring game.
• Gross-Bullock is now averaging 3.2 threes per game and has multiple threes in 11-of-14.
• Tyler Brelsford finished without a turnover in 20+ minutes of action for the third time this season.

Up Next
Bryant opens America East play on Saturday, January 6 at UMBC. Tip is set for 1:00 p.m.