Box Score 

Freshman Cecil Gresham scored a career-best 17 points vs. Southern New Hampshire Wednesday night.

MANCHESTER, NH -  (1/17/07) Junior Jon Ezeokoli (South Orange, NJ) scored a game-high 23 and freshman Cecil Gresham (Bloomfield, Conn.) added a career-high 17 points to lead the Bryant men's basketball team to a 67-60 win over Southern New Hampshire University here Wednesday night. The win, Bryant's fifth-straight and sixth of its last seven, improves the Bulldogs to 12-5 overall and 10-4 in the NE-10. 

This one was a tale of two halves. Leading by 15 at the break against the last-place Penmen, things were looking good for the Bulldogs. SNHU (which came into the game last in the league in scoring, turned the ball over 13 times and struggled from the floor in trailing Bryant, 33-18 at the half. 

The Bulldogs raced out front early, taking advantage of cold shooting by the Penmen in the first half.  Leading by two, an 11-0 run behind a three from Burns and alley-oop layin by Cecil Gresham, put Bryant ahead 25-12 with 2:50 left. 

Chris Brickley (team-high 21 points) hit a pair of free throws and scored inside to break the run by the Bulldogs momentarily.  But Gresham drained a spot up 15-footer and after Burns hit a three from the corner with under a minute to go, the freshman calmly sank a three as the first half buzzer sounded, sending Bryant sprinting into the locker room comfortably in front.

But in the second half, it was a different story. Bryant could manage just one basket on 11 attempts as Southern NH opened the second half with a 14-2 run and pulled to within three at 38-35 before Ezeokoli hit three with just over 10 minutes left to stop the bleeding.

Another Brickley three would get Southern NH within two at 42-40, but that would be as close as the Penmen would get as Dan Hammond hit a basket in the paint and was fouled and Chris Burns (Merrimack, NH) hit a pair of free throws down the stretch and the Bulldogs would hold on the victory.

Bryant won despite shooting 37 percent from the floor but won the game at the line, making 22 of 23 free throws. Ezeokoli was a perfect 10 for 10 at the line.  Andrew Lyell (Portsmouth, RI) had four points but was strong underneath, finishing with five rebounds in the game.   

Southern NH finished the game shooting 46.3 percent from the floor including 59 percent in the second half. 

The Bulldogs will travel to Syracuse, NY this Saturday to face Le Moyne College at 3:30 p.m.

* Notes ... Byrant defeated Southern NH 76-46 at home back on Dec. 9 ... The Bulldogs entered the game winners of three-straight against the Penmen ... Bryant entered the game 14^th in the conference in scoring, just ahead of last-place Southern NH which came into the game 15^th with a 63.8 points per game average ... Chris Burns, who scored a career-high in wins last week vs. Pace and Stonehill, missed his first three shots but made two of his next four attempts (both three's) in the first half ... Gresham's previous high was 12 vs. Franklin Pierce.