BULLDOGS STAY WINLESS AGAINST RIVAL BROWN, FALL, 67-60, IN NON-CONFERENCE ACTION MONDAY NIGHT

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Sophomore Alex Francis (Harlem, N.Y.) scored 17 points to lead the home side, but after an even first half, Brown was the crisper side in the second, outshooting the Bryant University men's basketball team for a 67-60 victory at the Chace Athletic Center in non-conference action Monday night.

Francis paced three Bulldogs (2-18) in double figures, going 8-of-14 from the floor as classmate Corey Maynard (Adelaide, Australia) added 15 points and junior point guard Frankie Dobbs (Berea, Ohio) chipped in 10 more on the night. Rookie Ben Altit (Herzeliya, Israel) led the home side on the glass with eight rebounds and nine points.

Stephen Albrecht's 21 points off 8-of-17 shooting marked a game high, while Andrew McCarthy added 15 and a contest-best nine rebounds for the Bears (6-13). Sean McGonagill also scored 15 and dished out a game-high seven helpers in the outing.

The Bulldogs worked up a 13-point lead – their largest advantage of the season – over the opening seven minutes for a 28-15 edge, but the next 3:18 would be nearly all Brown, as the opening frame was marked by back-and-forth play. The Bears ripped off a 14-2 run, one interrupted only by a Francis layup at the 6:30 mark, cutting the home side's lead to just a single point, 30-29, with under five minutes to play in the opening frame.

Treys from Francis and Raphael Jordan (Bel Air, Md.) advanced Bryant's lead back to five, 36-31, but the latter's 3-pointer from the left side at 2:45 was the final Bulldog basket of the half. Brown, however, would capitalize on three-straight Bryant turnovers to hit the final seven points of the frame, knotting the game at 36-36 with 1:52 to go and taking a two-point edge on an Albrecht jumper heading into the break.

Brown started out the second as strong as it closed the first, opening up their largest lead to that point, 49-44, with 13 minutes left to play in the game. The visitors' lead would grow to 10 at the midway point of the frame, 56-46, and Bryant would cut it again back to five, 60-55, with 7:33 showing on the clock.

There would be little scoring over the next five minutes, though, with just a single Brown jumper being scored. And after an Altit three cut the home side's deficit to 62-58 but left just 2:18 on the clock, Bryant found itself forcing shots down the stretch, eventually needing to foul in the final seconds.

The effort would not go Bryant's way, despite Brown's 5-for-9 mark from the line in the final two minutes, as the Bears would keep the Bulldogs without a win in the Ocean State rivalry with a 67-60 victory.

The Bulldogs shot 39.3 percent to Brown's 50 percent clip from the floor, but scored nine 3-pointers to their opponent's seven. The teams were even on the glass, 34-34, despite Bryant's early rebounding edge.

Bryant will now return to Northeast Conference play for the remainder of the season, hosting league foe Fairleigh Dickinson on Thursday, Jan. 26 at the Chace Athletic Center for a 7 p.m. matchup.