Bulldogs fall to UMass Lowell on Saturday

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Earl Timberlake posted 22 points and Sherif Gross-Bullock added 20 but the Bryant University men's basketball team fell to UMass Lowell, 86-77, on Saturday afternoon at the Chace Athletic Center.

With the loss, the Bulldogs fall to 17-10 overall and 9-3 in the America East. They remain a half game ahead of UML in the league standings. Bryant returns to the court next Saturday at league-leading Vermont.

On Saturday, Bryant and UMass Lowell were tied 75-75 with 2:26 left before the River Hawks outscored Bryant 11-2 to close it out.

Timberlake recorded his fifth-straight 20-point effort with 22 and 6, while Gross-Bullock notched his 12^th 20-point game of the season, finishing with 20 and 5. Both players played all 40 minutes. Rafael Pinzon (11) gave Bryant three players in double figures.

Game Information
UMass Lowell 86, Bryant 77
Records: Bryant 17-10, 9-3 AE | UMass Lowell 17-7, 8-3 AE
Location: Chace Athletic Center (Smithfield, R.I.)
Attendance: 1,022

Key Moments

• Ayinde Hikim hit a runner with 56 seconds left to give the River Hawks a three-point edge.

How it Happened

• Bryant jumped out to an 8-4 lead but the River Hawks responded with 10-0 run to grab a 14-8 lead at the 13:29 mark.
• Timberlake got Bryant back into the game with a pair of lefty finishes at the rim. He spun down the lane to finish at the rim before banking home a lefty hook before the under-12.
• The Bulldogs retook the lead with an electric stretch that started with back-to-back threes from SGB and Pinzon.
• Timberlake then spun to the rim for two and Pinzon made it 22-16 with a driving layup.
• The teams would trade blows from there with Gross-Bullock giving the Bulldogs a 33-30 lead with a deep three at the 3:08 mark.
• UMass Lowell, however, would take a late lead as Yuri Covington was fouled shooting a three and hit all three from the line, making it 37-35.
• The River Hawks would score with under five seconds left in the half but a foul at midcourt led to a pair of free throws with 0.7 seconds left.
• UMass Lowell led 39-37 at the break.
• Bryant was able to tie the game out of the break at the free throw line.
• A pair of Cam Morris free throws gave UML a 42-41 lead before Gross-Bullock finished at the rim to ignite an 8-0 Bryant run.
• Threes from Tyler Brelsford and Connor Withers made it 50-43 and forced a UML timeout with 15:50 left.
• The River Hawks had an answer, going on a 13-2 run to take a 56-52 lead at the 11:24 mark. Back-to-back threes from Covington made it a four-point game.
• Bryant would tie the game at 60-60 but Covington hit his fourth three of the game to give UML a 63-60 lead.
• The Black and Gold would eventuall tie the game at 68-68 as Brelsford hit all three free throws after being fouled shooting a three.
• Bryant and UML go toe-to-toe from there as SGB tied the game at 75-75 with two free throws.
• UML would retake the lead with two free throws from O'Connor and made it a three-point game, 78-75, with 1:50 left.
• Bryant would get it back to a one-point game, 78-77, before Hikim finished with 56 seconds left. A block on the next Bryant possession was followed by a layup on the other end and UML would close it out from there.

Stats

• Bryant finished 25-of-61 (41.0 percent) from the field, 5-of-20 (25.0 percent) from three and 22-of-26 (84.6 percent) from the line.
• UML held a 41-33 advantage on the glass.
• Timberlake finished 8-of-11 from the field and 6-of-6 from the line in a full 40 minute effort. He added six rebounds and two steals.
• Gross-Bullock also played all 40, finishing with 20 on 5-of-15 shooting. He was 8-of-10 from the line and added five rebounds and two assists.
• Withers recorded five points, eight rebounds, three assists and four blocks in 34 minutes.
• Pinzon also finished in double figures, scoring 11.

Game Notes

• UMass Lowell has won all three meetings between the two programs at the DI level.
• Bryant is now 8-3 at home this season and 41-9 at home since the start of 2020-21 season.
• Timberlake finished in double figures for the 24^th time this year and the 51st time in his career.
• Timberlake posted his fifth straight 20-point game and his sixth of the season. He joins Sherif Gross-Bullock (earlier this year), Peter Kiss, Alex Francis and Nisre Zouzoua as the only players in DI program history with 5-straight games of 20+ points.
• Timberlake now has 994 points in his collegiate career.
• Gross-Bullock scored in double figures for the 22^nd time this year and the 68th time in his career.
• SGB posted his 12^th 20-point effort of the season.
• Gross-Bullock has now scored 994 points at Bryant and surpassed 1,500 for his career (1,506).
• Withers matched his career high with four blocks.
• Pinzon posted double figures for the 16^th time this year and the 23^rd time in his career.

Up Next
Bryant will have its second and final bye of the season next Thursday before traveling to Vermont on Saturday, Feb. 24.