February 27, 2010
BULLDOGS FALL IN 2010 SEASON
FINALE, DROP 71-54 HOME DECISION TO LONG ISLAND SATURDAY
AFTERNOON
Boxscore
SMITHFIELD, R.I. - Freshman
Raphael Jordan (Bel Air, Md.) led the Bulldogs in
scoring for the third-consecutive game Saturday afternoon in the
2010 season finale, but his 10 points weren't enough to keep the
Bryant University men's basketball team from dropping its final
game of the season, losing, 71-54, to Long Island University on
Senior Day at the Chace Athletic Center.
The Bulldogs end their second Division I campaign with a 1-29
overall record and a 1-17 mark in Northeast Conference action while
the Blackbirds improved to 13-16 on the year (11-7 NEC).
Jordan was the only Bulldog to register double figures, scoring
10 points on 3-of-6 shooting. The freshman was 2-for-3 from beyond
the arc and 2-for-3 from the free throw line. Classmate
Vlad Kondratyev (Nikolayev, Ukraine) added nine
points and four rebounds.
David Hicks and Jamal Olasewere led the Blackbirds with 13
points apiece. Hicks added seven boards while Olasewere came up
with a trio of steals.
Bryant was outshot 48.1 percent to 34.5 percent from the field
on the day, but both teams struggled from the free throw line,
shooting just 57.1 percent from the stripe. Long Island outscored
the Bulldogs, 36-22, in the paint while Bryant got 31 points from
its bench.
But the Bulldogs stayed in the game through the first frame,
taking just a three-point, 31-28 deficit into the halftime break.
Bryant trailed for the first 10:33 of the contest before junior
Barry Latham (Taunton, Mass.) knocked down a
3-point bucket from the right wing off a Sam Leclerc
(Fayette, Maine) pass to give the Bulldogs their first
lead of the game, 19-18, with 9:22 left in the half.
The two teams traded leads over the remaining nine minutes as
senior point guard Chris Birrell (Scituate, R.I.)
hit a 3-pointer with 6:36 left on the clock to break a 21-21 tie
and give the Bulldogs a three-point advantage, 24-21. But the
Blackbirds were able to regain the lead with 3:08 remaining in the
stanza and take a 31-28 lead into the locker room.
Long Island picked up the pace in the second half, controlling
the first 13 minutes of play to go on a commanding 26-7 run to
start the period. The Blackbirds held the Bulldogs to just three
field goals over the first 13 minutes of the second stanza and
extended their lead to 57-35 with seven minutes to go.
Freshman Daniel Calandrillo (Leonardo, N.J.)
hit a 3-pointer with 3:52 remaining in the game to bring the
Bulldogs back to within 17 points, but once again the Blackbirds
responded and regained a 20-point advantage on the next possession
with a Kyle Johnson trey.
Calandrillo would wrap up the scoring with a layup with 13
seconds to play, but the Bulldogs would ultimately fall to the
Blackbirds, 71-54, in the 2009-10 season finale.
"I am as proud of this team as any group I've ever coached,"
said second-year head coach Tim O'Shea after the
game. "Obviously they were up against it [all season] but you can
see how hard they played till the very end. The record is no
reflection of what this team is about."
