Bryant Wraps Up Regular Season with Win over Albany

Rafael Pinzon scored a game-high 27 and Daniel Rivera recorded his third-straight double-double to lift the Bryant University men’s basketball team to an 83-79 victory over UAlbany on Tuesday night at the Chace Athletic Center.

With the victory, the Bulldogs finish the regular season with a 19-12 overall record and an 11-5 mark in the America East. Bryant will be the No. 3 seed in the 2024 Jersey Mike’s America East Men’s Basketball Playoffs and will host sixth-seeded Maine on Saturday, March 9 at 2:00 p.m. Click here to purchase your tickets.

Pinzon recorded his fifth 20-point outing of the season for the Bulldogs, going 10-of-22 from the field and 4-of-8 from three. He also added five assists and four rebounds. Rivera posted 19 points and a career-high 17 rebounds for his third-straight double-double. Miles Latimer chipped in 12 points and five blocks, while Tyler Brelsford had nine points and six assists.

Game Information
Bryant 83, UAlbany 79
Records: Bryant 19-12, 11-5 AE | UAlbany 13-18, 5-11 AE
Location: Chace Athletic Center (Smithfield, R.I.)
Attendance: 669

Key Moments

Bryant opened the second half on a 10-2 run, erasing a four-point deficit. The Bulldogs wouldn’t trail again.
How it Happened

Rivera scored the first four points of the game but the Great Danes rattled off a 14-3 run to take a 14-7 lead, forcing a Bryant timeout. An Amar’e Marshall steal and slam gave UAlbany the 14-7 lead.
Pinzon then shot Bryant back into the game, hitting consecutive threes out of the timeout to make it 13-14.
Latimer then swished a three from the top to tie the game at 16-16.
UAlbany would take a 22-18 lead to the under-12 media.
Bryant would regain the lead, 26-24, as Edert celebrated his birthday with back-to-back swishes from opposite wings.
In what was a first half of runs, UAlbany scored the next five points to take a 29-26 lead to the under-8 media.
Bryant would take the lead back, 33-30, as Rivera converted five-straight points for the Bulldogs. He finished a three-point play before scoring at the rim.
UAlbany would answer with three-straight threes to take a 39-35 lead before Bryant knotted it back up.
The Great Danes would score the final four points to take a 43-39 lead into the break.
Bryant would use its defense to come out of the gates flying in the second half. Brelsford turned a pair of turnovers into fast-break layups at the other end as Bryant built a 49-45 lead.
The Bulldogs would take a 53-48 lead into the under-16 media.
Bryant’s lead would creep to six, 58-52, before the Great Danes got a three from Marshall.
The Bulldogs and Great Danes went back and forth until the under-8, with the Black and Gold holding a 64-62 lead.
Latimer hit a huge three out of the timeout, swishing from deep to give the Bulldogs a five-point edge.
Pinzon then went coast-to-coast to convert an and-1 as Bryant led 70-66 with 5:45 left.
Brynat’s lead would hover around six until Thomas converted a three-point play to make it 78-77 with 1:14 to play.
Sherif Gross-Bullock would convert two free throws on the next possession and Bryant would break the press for an easy Latimer layup on the next to make it 82-79.
Stats

Bryant finished the game 30-of-58 (51.7 percent) from the field, 9-of-20 (45.0 percent) from three and 14-of-21 (66.7 percent) from the line.
UAlbany held a 43-41 edge on the glass.
Bryant finished with 19 assists and also blocked 13 shots.
Pinzon was 10-of-22 from the field and 4-of-8 from three, finishing with 27 points. He added five assists and four rebounds.
Rivera went 8-of-13 from the field to finish with 19 points. He grabbed 17 rebounds.
Latimer posted 12 points, three rebounds, three assists, two steals and five blocks.
Brelsford chipped in nine points and six assists.
Gross-Bullock posted eight points, five rebounds, three assists and three blocks.
Edert knocked down a pair of threes off the bench.
Keyshawn Mitchell recorded two points, seven boards and three blocks.
Game Notes

Bryant swept the season series from UAlbany for the second-straight year. The Bulldogs have now won the last four meetings and own a 4-3 lead in the all-time series.
The Bulldogs improved to 10-3 at home this season and 43-9 at home since the start of the 2020-21 season.
Bryant’s 19 victories are tied with the 2021-22 and 2012-13 teams for the most regular season wins in DI program history.
Rivera posted his third-straight double-double. He now has seven double-doubles on the year. Tuesday was his 21st double-figure game of the season.
Rivera set a new career high with 17 rebounds. The 17 rebounds are tied for the fourth-most in a single game in DI program history.
Pinzon finished in double figures for the 20th time this season and the 27th time in his career.
Pinzon posted his fifth 20-point game of the season. The 27 points were one shy of his career high set vs Towson.
Gross-Bullock blocked multiple shots for the second-straight game.
Brelsford’s six assists were his most since recording 11 in his Bryant debut on Nov. 9, 2021.
Latimer blocked a career-high five shots.
Mitchell posted career highs in blocks (3), rebounds (7) and minutes (14).
Up Next
Bryant will host Maine in a quarterfinal game at the Chace Athletic Center in the 2024 Jersey Mike’s America East Men’s Basketball Playoffs on Saturday, March 9. Tip is set for 2:00 p.m.