SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Led by senior shooters Dyami Starks (Duluth, Minn.) and Joe O'Shea (Burlington, Vt.), the Bryant University men's basketball team kept it close throughout but couldn't pull out the victory Tuesday night, falling to Harvard, 66-57, at the Chace Athletic Center.

Every inch Harvard (11-4) took, the Bulldogs (8-8) made up for, keeping Tuesday's visitors within two possessions throughout the second half. Starks paced the game with 18 points, hitting four treys, while O'Shea added 14 more on a 5-of-8 performance from the floor.

Sophomore forward Dan Garvin (Bethel, Conn.) chipped in nine points with a game-high eight rebounds as the Black and Gold won the battle on the glass, 36-34. The team's 13 offensive boards led to 14 second-chance points, but it was points in the paint that undid the Bulldogs, as the Crimson held a 30-18 margin inside the lane.

Three Crimson scorers finished in double figures, led by 15 points from Steve Moundou-Missi. Zena Edosomwan added 13 more with eight boards, while Wesley Saunders contributed 12 with three steals, three assists and six rebounds.

Both teams struggled to score at times throughout the game, with Harvard shooting 41.8 percent on the night to the Bulldogs' 32.7 percent clip.

The Bulldogs were hampered by the Crimson's length and athleticism from the start, and a 5-1 Bryant lead quickly disappeared thanks to an 11-0 Harvard run. A pair of Curtis Oakley (South Euclid, Ohio) free throws broke the streak, and rookie guard Hunter Ware (Powder Springs, Ga.) would bank in a three high off the glass with 10:41 to play to cut the lead to 12-10.

Starks tied the game at 12-12 with 9:30 to play, going coast-to-coast off a Garvin rebound for a breakaway layup, but Harvard rattled off nine more points for a 21-12 lead entering the final five minutes of the opening frame.

The Bulldogs wouldn't make up the difference before the halftime break, but managed to outscore the Crimson, 9-6, in the final five minutes to close the gap to 27-21 heading into the second stanza.

Bryant cut its deficit to two after a Starks trey and a pair of Andrew Scocca (Melrose, Mass.) free throws 3:14 into the second half, 33-31, and a Corbin Miller triple was nullified by seven-straight points from the Black and Gold ranks to give the hosts a 38-36 edge with 14 minutes left on the clock.

Harvard would rebound, taking a two-possession lead with 10:17 to play on an Edosomwan freebie, 44-40, but a deep three from Starks brought the game back to one just 22 seconds later.

A wide open look for Siyani Chambers (9 points) from the corner put the Crimson up, 51-45, but O'Shea would follow with the next five points to bring Harvard's lead back to just one once again with seven minutes left on the clock. And after a Saunders jumper, O'Shea continued to pile it on, dropping in his second trifecta in a 90-second span to knot the game at 53-53 with 6:13 remaining in regulation.

The sides would continue to battle back and forth, trading points until the final 1:37 of the game, when four Bulldog misses coupled with a 3-for-3 mark from the Crimson led the visitors to eight unanswered points for the final 66-57 victory.

The loss put an end to the Bulldogs' season-best four-game winning streak, but the Black and Gold won't have long to dwell on the defeat. Tuesday's game was the first of three this week for Bryant, who next takes the court Thursday night against LIU Brooklyn in its return to Northeast Conference play (7:00 p.m.). Thursday's game can be seen live on NECFrontRow.com and heard on WOON 1240AM.