Bryant opens America East play on Saturday at UMBC

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University men's basketball team opens America East play on Saturday afternoon when it faces UMBC in Baltimore. Tip is set for 1:00 p.m.

Saturday's game will be streamed on ESPN+.

The Particulars
Opponent: UMBC
Location: The Peake (Baltimore, Md.)
Date and Time: Saturday, Jan. 6 - 1:00 PM EST 
Live Stats: Sidearm
Watch: ESPN+
Game Notes: Bryant | UMBC
Social Media: Facebook | X | Instagram | #AEMBB

THE SERIES
UMBC swept the season series from Bryant last year. The Retrievers won 81-73 in Smithfield and then held on for a 76-73 victory in Baltimore. Sherif Gross-Bullock scored a career-high 38 points in the loss at UMBC last season.       

YEAR TWO OF AMERICA EAST
Bryant begins its second season in the America East on Saturday. The Bulldogs finished 8-8 in regular season play last season, finishing sixth in the standings. Bryant lost a quarterfinal game at third-seeded New Hampshire. Prior to this season, Sherif Gross-Bullock and Earl Timberlake were named to the Preseason All-America East team.  

NATIONAL RANKINGS
Bryant enters Sunday ranked fifth nationally with 6.3 blocks per game and 37th nationally in field goal percentage defense (39.3 percent). Bryant also ranks 19th nationally in three-point field goals per game (9.9).   

TIMBERLAKE POSTS TRIPLE DOUBLE...LEADS LEAGUE IN DOUBLE-DOUBLES
Earl Timberlake posted his first-career triple-double and just the second in DI program history in Bryant's win over Drexel. He finished with 15 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists to join Peter Kiss as the only two players to accomplish the feat. Timberlake enters Saturday with a league-high six double-doubles this season after posting 19 points and 12 rebounds at Ole Miss. 

FIVE MORE THINGS TO KNOW

1. Sherif Gross-Bullock has posted back-to-back 20-point efforts for the Black and Gold. He notched 29 against Drexel and finished with 24 against Ole Miss. Gross-Bullock ranks second in the league with five 20-point games this season and is also second in scoring with a team-high 17.6 points per game. 
2. Timberlake enters Saturday with one of the league's best overall stat lines, averaging 13.0 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 4.6 apg, 1.4 bpg and 1.3 spg.    
3. Connor Withers enjoyed one of the best games of his career at UMBC when he was a member of UMass Lowell. He scored 28 points and tied an America East postseason record with nine three-point field goals in the 2021 America East Semifinals. This season, Withers is averaging 8.7 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1.2 bpg and 1.6 spg. 
4. Tyler Brelsford grew up in Ellicott City, Md., just six miles from the Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena. He is averaging a career-high 7.3 ppg this season, shooting 39 percent from three.
5. Rafael Pinzon enters Saturday second on the team in scoring with 13.1 ppg. He has three-straight 20-point outings in which he is averaging 23.0 ppg. Pinzon is 12-of-25 from three over the last three games.                                 

Follow Bryant University men's basketball on Facebook, X and Instagram to get an inside look at the program.