BULLDOGS VS. ASSUMPTION COLLEGE
Wednesday, Nov. 29, 2006 - Chace Athletic Center
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UPDATE
The Bryant men's basketball team gets back into action
Wednesday night hosting Northeast-10 Conference foe Assumption
College. Tipoff at the Chace Athletic Center is at 7:30 p.m.
The game will be broadcast live online at http://www.bryantbulldogs.com/ with Pat Sullivan and Jason
Hopper calling all of the live action. Bryant (2-2, 1-1
NE-10) is coming off a tough 71-69 overtime loss Sunday at Franklin
Pierce College in Rindge, N.H. The Bulldogs are 0-2 on
the road and 2-0 at home this season with wins coming against AIC
and Saint Anselm at the Chace Athletic Center. Assumption
College (2-2 overall) brings a 2-0 conference record into the game
Wednesday after earning wins over Franklin Pierce (61-51) and Saint
Anselm (65-62). Bryant will travel to UMass Lowell Saturday
(3:30 p.m.) and Bentley on Tuesday for a 7:30 p.m. tip in Waltham,
Mass.
NEXT UP FOR BRYANT
The Bulldogs will travel to UMass Lowell on Saturday
afternoon for a 3:30 p.m. conference matchup. UMass Lowell
ended Bryant's season last year, defeating the Bulldogs 77-67 in
the first round of the NCAA Division II Regional Championships. The
next home game for the Bulldogs will be Saturday, Dec. 9 against
Southern N.H.
Dec. 2 - at
UMass Lowell, 3:30 pm
Dec. 5 - at
Bentley, 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 9 -
SOUTHERN N.H., 7:30 p.m.
NORTHEAST-10 PRESEASON POLL
The Bryant University men's basketball team has been
selected to finish second in the Northeast-10 Conference in 2006-07
following a vote from the conference's head coaches. After
claiming a share of the Northeast-10 Regular Season Title last
season, the Falcons of Bentley College are favored to finish first
again this year as voted by the men's basketball coaches. Overall,
the Falcons received 201 votes to put them on the top of the
preseason coaches' poll. Bentley tied Bryant University with six
first place votes in the poll. However, the Falcons edged the
Bulldogs, who finished second in the ranking with 183 total points.
The College of Saint Rose followed in third place with 182 points
and claimed two first place votes, while Southern New Hampshire
University (169) and Pace University (158) rounded out the top five
respectively.
LAST YEAR VS. ASSUMPTION
Bryant swept both games with Assumption, winning
94-88 in overtime at the Chace Athletic Center and later 94-70 at
Worcester, Mass. Three Bryant players scored at least 20
points in the win at home with John Williams netting 24 while
Chris Burns had 22 and Jon
Ezeokoli added 21 points and 10 rebounds. Mike Foti
led Assumption with 22 points while Corey Diethorn had 14 on 6 of 9
shooting and 7 rebounds. In the second meeting at Assumption,
Dan Hammond had a career best 22 points including
5 of 7 from three-point range while Jerrann Wright
had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
WINNING WAYS
Bryant has posted three-straight 20-win seasons in
five seasons under Max Good. The Bulldogs have
qualified for three-straight NCAA tournaments, going 23-10 in
2003-04 while following with a 25-9 campaign in 2004-05, reaching
the NCAA Division II Championship game in March of '05. Last
year, Bryant went 21-10 overall.
BURNS' NUMBERS
Senior guard Chris Burns of
Merrimack, N.H. enters Wednesday's game with 923 career points,
needing 77 to reach 1,000 for his career. Burns is third in
school history with 182 career three-point field goals. He
has played in 95 career games - starting in 35.
QUICK LOOK AT THE BULLDOGS
The Bulldogs enter the season picked to finish second
overall in the preseason Northeast-10 Conference coaches poll - the
highest a Bryant team has been selected in the preseason
poll. The Bulldogs opened the year with exhibition games at
Syracuse (86-92 L) and UConn (45-70) and followed with an 85-63
loss at Philadelphia to open the season. The team rallied
back to win two at home, defeating AIC in a non-conference affair
and Saint Anselm.
THE COACH
Head Coach Max Good enters his sixth
season at the helm of the Bryant basketball team. During his
five seasons, Good has led the Bulldogs to three-straight 20-win
seasons and three consecutive trips to the NCAA trip - highlighted
by a trip to the national championship game in March of 2005 where
the Bulldogs fell to Virginia Union by five. Good has a
record of 95-64 while at Bryant and 204-202 during 15 seasons as a
head coach, having previously coached at UNLV and Eastern
Kentucky.
Bryant's Coaching Victories
1. Tom Foliard
174 (1968-78, 174-88)
2. Leon Drury
126 (1978-89, 126-182)
3. Ed Reilly
109 (1989-01, 109-209)
4. Max Good
95 (2001-pre.,
95-64)
THE COACHING STAFF
Deshon Gaither and Dwayne
Pina return for their second seasons at Bryant University
in 2006-07. Gaither came to Bryant from Charlotte, North
Carolina where he was an assistant with the A.B.A.'s Charlotte
Thunder as well as an advance scout for the N.B.A.'s Charlotte
Bobcats. Pina, a 2001 graduate of Boston College, was a
walk-on in 1997 and earned himself a scholarship with the Eagles,
playing 78 total games for B.C. In 1998-98, Pina
started all 27 games for B.C. and ranked seventh in the BIG EAST
with 4.5 assists per game. Also joining the Bryant
coaching staff once again this fall is Tom Sherman
who has served as a part-time assistant for the past four
seasons. He came to Bryant by way of Plymouth State College
where he was an assistant coach in 2002-03.
MEET THE FRESHMEN
The Bulldogs have three recruited freshmen on the roster
this season plus two additional walk-ons. Cecil
Gresham (Bloomfield, Conn.) is a 6-foot-5 forward who is
coming off a strong prep season at Maine Central Institute ...
Forward Dana Mauro (Wethersfield, Conn.) is a
6-foot-4 forward who was named first team all-state by the Hartford
Courant in 2005 and second team in 2006 ... Guard Ray
Witkos (Easthampton, Mass.) scored 1,578 career points at
Holyoke Catholic H.S. and was a co-recipient of the John "Honey"
Lohovich award as Western Mass. Division II Player of the Year; the
same award given to former Bryant standout John Williams ...
Freshman Chris Casey (Westborough, Mass.) is a
walk-on who was an all-state soccer player at Westborough HS ...
Anthony Thomas (Boston, Mass.) joined the Bulldogs
at Franklin Pierce after playing wide receiver for the Bryant
football team this fall.
BULLDOG NOTABLES ....
- Dan Hammond (Brunswick, Maine) needs five
steals to break the school record for career steals. Hammond,
the holder of Bryant's single game (9 vs. Merrimack) and season (72
in '04-05) steals record, has 179 career steals, trailing Jerome
Grier '96 record of 184.
- Bryant has been out-rebounded in all four games this season
- In Sunday's game at Franklin Pierce, a total of 50 three-point
field goals attempted, 21 by Bryant and 29 by Franklin Pierce.
