Bulldogs survive Ravens upset
bid; John Williams nets 22
SMITHFIELD, R.I. (February
26, 2005) - Sixth-seeded Bryant University survived a
serious scare from 11th-seeded Franklin Pierce and
posted a 60-57 victory in first round action of the Northeast-10
Conference men's basketball tournament at the Chace Athletic Center
this afternoon.
Bryant advances to Monday's
quarterfinal round, where the Bulldogs will travel to Manchester,
N.H., to battle third-seeded Saint Anselm College (21-6, 16-6
NE-10), who earned a bye through the first round, at 7 p.m.
Franklin Pierce sees its season come to a close after posting a
9-19 record overall (7-15 NE-10). The last time the Ravens suffered
as many defeats was their inaugural NCAA Division II season in
1988-89, when they posted an 8-20 mark, going 2-12 in the New
England Collegiate Conference.
Junior John Williams
(Springfield, Mass./Longmeadow) led Bryant with a
game-high 22 points. Sophomore Chris Burns (Merrimack,
N.H./Merrimack) added ten points as he hit
two-of-five from three-point range to go with a 4-4 effort at the
free-throw line. Senior Mike Williams (Ellington,
Conn./Ellington) chipped in six points, six rebounds,
four assists and two steals.
Senior Mario Correia
(Brockton, Mass./Massasoit) and sophomore
Dan Hammond (Brunswick, Maine/Brunswick)
each grabbed a game-high eight rebounds. Hammond also registered
two assists and two blocks.
Freshman swingman
Mitchell Johnson (Nassau, Bahamas/Cushing
Academy) led Franklin Pierce with 19 points and five
rebounds. Sophomore Sean Mayo (Saco, Maine/Thornton
Academy) registered 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting from
the field, three rebounds and two steals.
Sophomore Darryl
Minnifield (Boston, Mass./Brookline) contributed six
assists, four boards and three steals, while juniors
Pierre Sully (Jamaica Plain, Mass./North Cambridge
Catholic) and Justin Powell (Brookline,
Mass./Brookline) along with sophomore
Nazim Senaldi (Istanbul, Turkey) each
grabbed five rebounds.
The game featured 12 lead changes
and eight ties (10 & 8 in the first half). Bryant led by three
at the break (35-32), closing the half out with a 7-2 run in which
Mike Williams scored four points.
Mayo scored a hook shot with 4:08
remaining the first half to put Franklin Pierce up 32-31, but the
Ravens next basket came 4:06 into the second half with a Mayo dunk
to cut their deficit to five (39-34) after John Williams opened the
stanza with four points.
Johnson scored a layup midway
through the second to pull the Ravens within a point (41-40). Burns
answered with a three and the Bulldogs opened a seven-point
advantage (54-47) after a Nathaniel Sudlow (Brooklyn,
N.Y./Tilden) dunk with 3:29 to play.
Franklin Pierce got a huge break
when Sudlow was whistled for a technical foul for hanging on the
rim and Johnson sparked a 6-0 Ravens run over a span of 26-seconds
to cut the lead to a single point (54-53) with 3:03 remaining.
Johnson converted the two free throws after the technical, then
nailed an ally-oop pass from Sully, who then converted a fast-break
lay-up off a feed from Mayo off his own steal.
Powell gave the Ravens their first
lead of the half (55-54) with a put-back with 2:16 to play. John
Williams answered with a drive to put the Bulldogs back up a point
with 61-seconds to play. Johnson had a shot at the other end
blocked by Mike Williams, forcing the Ravens to foul. Burns his two
free throws with 40-seconds left, but Johnson pulled Franklin
Pierce back within a point (58-57) with a jumper with 25-seconds
left.
Mike Williams was fouled and missed
the front end of his one-and-one, giving Franklin Pierce a chance
to for the upset, but Johnson's baseline jumper was short with
two-seconds left. Burns hit two free throws to put Bryant up three,
but the Ravens turned the ball over, seeming to ice the win. While
Hammond missed the front end of his one-and-one, the Ravens only
had a chance for a desperation heave, which Senaldi fired up from
the foul line extended on Bryant's end of the court, that caromed
off the rim and backboard to end the Ravens season.
BOX
SCORE
