JUNIOR ALEX FRANCIS SCORES HIS 1,000TH-CAREER POINT AS BULLDOGS TOP UNH, 76-64, IN 2012-13 HOME OPENER SATURDAY

SMITHFIELD, R.I. -- Junior forward Alex Francis (Harlem, N.Y.) recorded his 1,000th-career point with 16:02 to play in the second half and paced the contest with a season-high 23 points as the Bryant University men's basketball team earned its first win of the season, 76-64, over the University of New Hampshire in Saturday's 2012-13 home opener.

The layup made Francis the 32nd 1,000-point scorer in Bryant men's basketball history, and the junior is one of the quickest to join the club, having played just 63 games in a Bulldog uniform. Francis also paced the game on the glass, pulling in nine rebounds to fall just one board shy of his first double-double of the season. He went an impressive 9-for-14 from the field with an 5-of-8 mark from the free throw line in 36 minutes of action, leading the Bulldogs (1-2) to their first home-opening win in the Division I era.

Francis was one of three double-digit scorers for the Black and Gold, who saw 66 of their 76 points come from the starting ranks, including 17 posted by redshirt-sophomore Dyami Starks (Duluth, Minn.) and 12 more from senior point guard Frankie Dobbs (Berea, Ohio). The Wildcats (2-1) suffered their first loss of the year despite four double-figure scorers of their own in Chris Pelcher (12), Ferg Myrick (12), Jordon Bronner (11) and Chandler Rhoads (10).

The Bulldogs never trailed in the contest and finished the game shooting 54.7 percent -- the first time a Bryant side has shot better than 50 percent in a game since Dec. 3, 2011 -- surpassing the .500 mark in each half for the first time since Jan. 20, 2011.

Bryant's hot start got the Bulldogs rolling, as the hosts took a 12-0 advantage before visiting UNH saw its first bucket, a 3-pointer by Myrick, 3:19 into the contest. The Wildcats would cut the game to six, 16-10, over the next four minutes, but wouldn't get much closer than that until the 14th minute, when another Myrick 3-pointer narrowed the Bulldogs' lead to 28-26.

But the home side rebuilt the margin quickly, jumpstarted by a trey from Starks with 5:06 to play, and took a 43-34 advantage into the halftime break. The lead came with the help of 12 points from both Francis and Starks and a 51.7 percent team shooting clip in the opening 20 minutes. The Wildcats shot just 28.6 percent in the frame and were led by 12 points from Myrick, benefitting from Bryant's early foul trouble to get 14 of their 34 points from the line (14-17).

Francis came out of the break scoring the first three buckets of the second stanza to give his team a 15-point cushion, 49-34, a run that would put the game all but out of reach for UNH.

The visitors cut their deficit to single digits once more off two made free throws from Patrick Konan with 12:39 to play, 55-47, but Bryant would respond with a 10-2 tear over the next 4:12 to take its largest lead of the game, 65-49, with 8:27 remaining on the clock.

The Bulldogs played with a dominating presence in the paint, where they scored 42 of their points, and shot an impressive 58.3 percent (14-of-24) from the floor in the second frame. Bryant also won the battle on the boards, outrebounding UNH, 37-27, but would send the Wildcats to the line 13 more times in the final 20 minutes.

Starks went 4-for-10 from long range to lead a 6-for-20 mark for the Bulldogs on the game. Junior Corey Maynard (Adelaide, Australia) chipped in eight points and eight rebounds in his first start of the season, also dishing out a game-high six assists.

The Bulldogs will look to build on the win in their next and last outing before Thanksgiving break. Bryant will travel to intrastate rival Brown University Wednesday, Nov. 21 for a 7:00 p.m. matchup at the Pizzitola Center.