Bryant Men’s Basketball Cruises Past Fairleigh Dickinson

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Sophomore forward Dan Garvin (Bethel, Conn.) recorded the Bulldogs’ first double-double of the season with a career-high 16 points and career-best 18 rebounds as the Bryant University men’s basketball team dealt Fairleigh Dickinson a 73-60 loss Saturday afternoon at the Chace Athletic Center.

Garvin set a new career high offensively for the second-consecutive game and picked up his first double-double since Dec. 28, 2013 in the win. His 18 rebounds were the most for any Bryant player since Alex Francis (’14) pulled in 18 at Central Connecticut on Jan. 12, 2013. Garvin also set new personal marks for steals (4), made free throws (8) and free throws attempted (10) while leading the Bulldogs (6-7, 3-1 Northeast Conference) on both sides of the floor.

Senior guard Joe O’Shea (Burlington, Vt.), the team’s hottest hand as of late, posted a game-best 19 points on 4-of-7 shooting and a career-most 10-of-13 mark from the charity stripe. Junior point guard Shane McLaughlin (Old Tappan, N.J.)  also finished the game in double-figure scoring with 11 points and added five assists with four steals.

FDU (7-8, 2-2) was paced by 15 points from Marques Townes (5-for-6) and 11 more from Earl Potts Jr. (7-fr-8 from the line). Xavier Harris posted a side-high six rebounds as the team shot 32.7 percent (18-55) from the floor and just over 18 percent (4-22) from long range. The Knights went 20-for-29 from the charity stripe.

Bryant outrebounded FDU, 43-36, and shot 39.2 percent (20-51) from the floor on the day. Bryant made a season-high 27 free throws (27-38) and shot 30 percent from beyond the arc (6-20).

After the Knights opened up a 10-4 lead through the opening five minutes, the Bulldogs turned on the pressure and ripped off a 14-0 run over 6:34 that put the hosts up, 24-10. The run saw seven FDU turnovers and six Bryant steals, and the Black and Gold went 7-for-8 from the line and 6-of-14 from the field over the stretch. Seven points came from rookie guard Hunter Ware (Powder Springs, Ga.) alone, as the Knights were 0-for-9 during that span.

Stephan Jiggetts put an end to the run at the eight-minute mark with a jumper in the paint, but the Black and Gold were off and running, outscoring the visitors, 16-11, through the remainder of the half en route to a 40-23 halftime lead.

The margin remained at 17 through the first six minutes of the second half, but back-to-back Darian Anderson layups – the second off a strip of McLaughlin at midcourt – closed the gap to 47-34 with 13:45 left in the game. Two free throws from Potts closed the spread to 11 points, 47-36, but a three-point play from O’Shea pushed the home side’s lead back to 14 with 12 minutes left on the clock.

An 11-3 run started by that O’Shea play pushed Bryant’s lead all the way to 19 points, 58-39, with eight minutes remaining, and McLaughlin gave the hosts a 20-point lead with a corner three with just 5:07 to play.

The Knights would continue to pressure Bulldog shooters, forcing three Bryant turnovers while going 5-for-7 from the field in the final five minutes of the game to close the margin to as few as 11 points with 35 seconds to go, but the Bulldogs’ advantage was too much to overcome as the Black and Gold completed the 73-60 victory.

Bryant will be back in action Thursday night to wrap up a three-game homestand against Wagner College (7:00 p.m.). The game can be seen live on NECFrontRow.com and heard on WOON 1240 AM.