Bryant wins over LIU-Brooklyn, 87-79
Friday, January 24, 2014
Sometimes, all it takes is a little wake-up call.
Trailing by 10 points to the LIU-Brooklyn Blackbirds at halftime, Bryant's Bulldogs got a one-two punch from Dyami Starks and Alex Francis in the second half to come from behind and win 87-79 at the Chace Athletic Center in Smithfield, RI Thursday night.
With the win, Bryant improves to 12-8 overall on the season, 4-1 in the Northeast Conference - good for second place in the league standings and one game behind 5-0 Robert Morris. Long Island falls to 6-12, 1-4 in the NEC.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTLIU-Brooklyn led the Bulldogs by 10 at the break, thanks in large part to a 13-4 run that ended with a Glenn Feidanga layup with 4:11 remaining.
Trailing 42-32 at the break, Bryant used an 11-0 run in the second half to grab a 53-51 lead with 13:39 to play, capped by a Starks three-pointer. A short time later, Francis scored nine points while the Blackbirds could score only three...and the Bulldogs led 73-66 heading into the stretch run. LIU-Brooklyn never caught up. In that second half, Bryant shot 56% from the floor, including 60% from three-point range.
Francis led all scorers with 24 points while Starks scored 23 for Bryant and also connected on the 1000th point of his career early in the second half, as the Bulldogs placed five players in double figures. Curtis Oakley scored 14 off of the bench, while Corey Maynard scored 13 and Joe O'Shea added 11. Francis added a game high 11 rebounds for a double-double, his 4th of the season and the 30th in his career. The Bulldogs outshot the Blackbirds 49% to 47% from the floor, but won the game at the free throw line...hitting 18-of-23 (78%) while LIU could only manage 6-of-12 (50%). Landon Atterberry led the Blackbirds with 18 points, and Jason Brickman scored 15 points and handed out 13 assists.
Bryant has now won three straight games, and next faces St. Francis (NY) Saturday at home in a 1:00 pm tipoff.
