51 Combined Points from Grant, Ndugba Not Enough for Bryant to Beat St. Francis

Sophomores Adam Grant (Franklin, Va.) and Ikenna Ndugba (Boston, Mass.) combined for 51 points, but the Bryant University men’s basketball team was outlasted by St. Francis Brooklyn, 85-80, Saturday evening at the Pope Physical Education Center.

GAME INFORMATION
St. Francis Brooklyn 85, Bryant 80
Records: Bryant (2-19, 1-7 NEC), St. Francis Brooklyn (8-12, 5-3 NEC)
Location: Pope Physical Education Center (Brooklyn Heights, N.Y.)

KEY MOMENTS

Ndugba hit three-pointers on back-to-back possessions to bring the Bulldogs within 31-28 with 5:29 to go in the first half.
St. Francis Brooklyn pushed its lead to 53-42 with 15:34 remaining before a 9-3 Bryant run brought the Bulldogs back within five at 56-51.
The lead fluctuated between five and nine points until the Bulldogs cut it to three with 1:23 remaining on a basket by senior Hunter Ware (Powder Springs, Ga.).
Grant hit a three-pointer with eight seconds remaining to cut it to 82-80, but after making one of two from the line, the Terriers stole a pass and made a layup for the final 85-80 margin.
HOW IT HAPPENED

Bryant led 7-3 before a 10-0 St. Francis run gave the Terriers a 13-7 advantage with 13:32 to go in the first half.
The Bulldogs cut it to one on a three-point play from Grant to make it 38-37 with 2:17 to go, but the Terriers responded with six straight points before a pair of free throws from senior Hunter Ware (Powder Springs, Ga.) closed out the first half.
St. Francis led by as many as seven in the first half as both teams shot over 55 percent from the field. Bryant was 5-of-11 from three in the first half, while St. Francis was 6-of-13.
Ndugba had 17 first-half points on 7-of-9 shooting.
St. Francis opened the second half on a 9-3 run to push its lead to double digits at 53-42.
Bryant responded with its own 9-3 run to bring the deficit to within 56-51 with 11:50 to go.
Trailing 73-64, Bryant cut into the deficit and brought it to three with 1:23 remaining on Ware’s basket.
Grant hit a three-pointer with eight seconds remaining to cut it to 82-80, but after making one of two from the line, the Terriers stole a pass and made a layup for the final 85-80 margin.
STATS

Grant scored 26 points and added six rebounds.
Ndugba added 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting and 4-of-7 from beyond the arc. The sophomore added five rebounds and three assists.
Freshman Brandon Carroll (Brewster, N.Y.) chipped in eight points and a team-high eight rebounds.
Bryant shot 51.6 percent from the floor, its second-best shooting performance of the year. St. Francis Brooklyn shot an even 50 percent.
The Terriers held a 40-32 rebounding advantage.
GAME NOTES

Bryant falls to 6-10 against St. Francis Brooklyn in the Division I era.
Grant’s 20-point outing was his sixth-straight game of 20 or more points, ninth on the year and 13th of his career. Grant has scored 10 or more points 35 times in his career.
Ndugba was in double figures for the 15th time this year and 23rd in his career, while he had his fourth game of 20 or more points this season.
Ndugba moved into a tie for 10th in Bryant’s Division I history in steals with 73, matching Dan Garvin (2013-17).
The Bryant sophomore class – Grant, Ndugba, Townes and Johnson – is responsible of 57.4 percent of the Bulldogs’ scoring this season.
UP NEXT
Bryant opens a four-game homestand Thursday at 7 p.m. when the Bulldogs host Central Connecticut. The game can be seen on ESPN3 and heard on WOON 1240 AM.

Tickets for Thursday’s game and the 2017-18 Bryant University men’s basketball season are available by clicking HERE or calling (401) 319-TIXX. 

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