February 26, 2007

NORTHEAST-10 CONFERENCE QUARTERFINAL

BRYANT MEN DEFEAT AIC 79-63 MONDAY NIGHT
Win Sets Up Conference Semifinal Showdown Thursday at Top-Seed Bentley

BOX SCORE

Senior Chris Burns scored a game-high 19 points to lead Bryant past AIC, 79-63 Monday night. The Bulldogs will travel to face top-seeded Bentley Thursday at 7 p.m. in Waltham, Mass.

SMITHFIELD, RI -  Chris Burns paced five players in double figures with a game-high 19 points to help lead the Bryant University men's basketball team to a 79-63 quarterfinal round win over visiting American International College Monday night at the Chace Athletic Center.

The win propels Bryant into the Northeast-10 Conference semifinals for the second-straight year this Thursday when the Bulldogs travel to Waltham, Mass. to face top-seed and undefeated Bentley College at 7 p.m. at the Dana Center.

Against AIC on Monday night, Bryant took control early from the start, thanks to deadly shooting from the perimeter, and kept the pressure on throughout the game. 

Red-hot shooting in the first half (55 percent) gave the Bulldogs a 41-27 lead heading into the locker room at the break.  The Bulldogs made six 3-point field goals in the first half to help make up for AIC's size on the inside.

The Yellow Jackets, the No. 5 seed of the tournament, out-rebounded Bryant 20 to 13 in the first half but couldn't generate any offense, shooting just 38 percent from the floor and turning the ball over 11 times in the first 20 minutes of the game.

In the second half, the fourth-seeded Bulldogs turned it up a notch, as a Jon Ezeokoli, Nate Sudlow and Jerrann Wright helped push the Bryant to lead to 21 five minutes in.   Despite AIC's strong inside game, Bryant found success driving the ball in the second half.  An Ezeokoli layup made it 48-31 while Sudlow added a coast-to-coast layup and Wright canned a nice turnaround jumper in the paint and the Bryant lead was quickly 52-31. 

While Bryant (19-9) found success in the paint, the Bulldogs used its strength of outside shooting to put the game away.

After a dunk by Nick Pontes (12 points, 4 rebounds), Burns drained three-consecutive three-pointers midway through the half to put the Bulldogs ahead 74-49 with 7:37 left and the Bulldogs were never threatened. 

Burns finished the night 7 of 16 from the field including 5 of 12 from three-point range. The senior guard also added five assists and five steals.  Bryant as team made 10 threes and finished shooting 52 percent from the floor. 

AIC (16-13) was led by Vernon Dupress' 18 points while freshman Aikeem Vandershorst added 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Yellow Jackets. AIC shot 42 percent from the field and out-rebounded Bryant 36 to 32. 

Bryant was swept by Bentley in the season series with the Falcons, the No. 2 team in the nation, winning 78-76 in the team's last meeting back on Feb. 3 in Smithfield, RI.  Bentley is undefeated this season at 27-0. 

POST GAME NOTES ...

* AIC entered the game as the No. 5 seed of the tournament with Bryant entering the tourney as the No. 4 seed - its highest ever.  AIC knocked off Merrimack 68-60 in the first round Saturday.

* The other semifinal round game Thursday features #3 Saint Rose at #2 Pace.   The two semifinal winners Thursday will advance to the conference championship game on Saturday (1 pm) at the highest remaining seed.  The highest seed has the home court advantage throughout the tournament.

* The NCAA will announce the 2007 Division II Men's Basketball Championship field this Sunday evening, March 4 at 10:30 p.m. The brackets will be released on http://www.ncaasports.com/.  Sixty-four teams will be selected to participate in the tournament. The tournament is made up of eight regional's consisting of eight teams.  Bryant is currently ranked No. 4 in the Northeast-10 Regional.

* Bryant went 12-1 at home this season. .