Francis paces Bulldogs to 78-58 victory
Bryant Release
LORETTO, Pa. – Junior forward Alex Francis (Harlem, N.Y.) scored a game-high 21 points while sophomore Dyami Starks (Duluth, Minn.)
added 18 as the Bryant University men's basketball team tied the
program record for wins in a season and consecutive victories at the
Division I level with a 78-58 topping of Saint Francis University at
DeGol Arena Saturday afternoon.
The victory set a new all-time mark for wins against Division I
opponents, as the Bulldogs improve to 9-4 with a sweep in the opening
weekend of Northeast Conference action. The Red Flash, led by 13 points
from Umar Shannon, fall to 1-12 (1-1 NEC) on the year.
Senior guard Frankie Dobbs (Berea, Ohio) chipped in 11 points for the Black and Gold, while Francis and junior Corey Maynard (Adelaide, Australia)
each pulled in a side-best seven rebounds. SFU's Earl Brown recorded
the only double-double of the day with 12 points and a contest-best 15
boards.
The Bulldogs took the early lead with a 10-0 run after Saint Francis
scored the opening basket, as Bryant was responsible for the remainder
of the scoring done in the first five minutes. But the visitors wouldn't
score again for the next 3:20, allowing the Red Flash to close the
deficit to just two points before sophomore shooter Joe O'Shea (Burlington, Vt.) converted a corner three for a 13-8 advantage.
Starks followed with a deep trifecta from beyond the top of the arc
to double up the home team, and the Bulldogs were strong on defense,
forcing Saint Francis into turnovers throughout the half.
Bryant kept the Red Flash off the board for five minutes mid-frame to
build up a 22-8 advantage, also keeping SFU leading scorer Umar Shannon
off the board until the 3:26 mark, when a layup moved the score to
31-15 in the visitors' favor.
The Black and Gold dropped in four treys in the half, including two
from Starks and another from Dobbs, and went 10-for-12 from the free
throw line in the opening 20 en route to a 40-18 halftime lead. Francis
led a Bryant team that shot 54.2 percent in the frame with 12 first-half
points while O'Shea picked up a pair of blocks for a new career high.
The Bulldogs were, however, outrebounded in the stanza, 18-14, with the
Red Flash picking up eight offensive boards despite a 29.6 shooting
percentage.
The Bulldogs started the second half out slowly, picking up seven
fouls and committing four turnovers in the first five minutes as Saint
Francis scored eight of its first 11 points from the charity stripe and
cut the Bulldogs' lead to 49-33 with just under 14 minutes left to play.
Bryant would regain a 20-point advantage quickly, and while Saint
Francis would cut into it at times throughout the half, the Bulldogs
upped their lead to 67-41 with less than eight minutes on the clock.
Ollie Jackson's back-to-back threes, followed by an acrobatic slam
from Earl Brown with 4:07 remaining cut the Red Flash deficit to 17
points, 69-52, and a three from Dominique Major lessened the gap to just
15, 73-58, two minutes later. But the hosts wouldn't get closer than
that as Bryant took home its fourth-straight victory, 78-58.
The Bulldogs return to Smithfield for their next outing and the
team's first home game of 2013, hosting Quinnipiac at the Chace Athletic
Center Thursday, Jan. 10 at 7 p.m.
