SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant men's basketball team was unable to overcome 20 turnovers, falling to Fairfield, 68-59, on Sunday at the Chace Athletic Center.
With the loss, the Bulldogs are 1-2 on the season. Bryant went 0-2 in the America East-Metro Challenge and will take on Providence this Tuesday at the Amica Mutual Pavilion. Tip is set for 7:00 p.m.
On Sunday, Bryant led 30-26 at the half but Fairfield opened the second half on a 15-4 run to take the lead for good. Back-to-back threes from Cole Edelen with 7:00 left helped Fairfield put the game away. The Stags turned 20 Bryant turnovers into 28 points and held Bryant without a fast break point.
Andre Pasha led Bryant with 12 points and 10 rebounds, while
Elijah Crispin and
Keegan Harvey each added 10.
Game Information
Fairfield 68, Bryant 59
Records: Bryant 1-2| Fairfield 1-1
Location: Chace Athletic Center (Smithfield, R.I.)
Attendance: 714
Key Moments
- Edelen hit back-to-back threes to push Fairfield's lead to 11 with 7:00 remaining in the game.
How it Happened
- Bryant held a 6-4 edge after what was a sluggish opening five minutes of play. Bryant (4) and Fairfield (2) combine for six turnovers.
- The Bulldogs received threes from Pasha and Tables.
- Bryant's strong shooting from beyond the arc continued as Pasha and Crispin hit back-to-back threes to make it 12-8. Pasha's caromed up high off the back rim before falling through the net.
- The Stags were able to take the lead at the under-8 with a quick 5-0 spurt. Cole Edelen hit Fairfield's first three of the game and Jaden Brown finished a steal with a slam to make it 17-16.
- Bryant continued to let it fly from beyond the arc as Behar and Lyons hit back-to-back triples to give Bryant a 23-17 lead with 5:46 left in the opening half.
- The Bulldogs took a 30-26 lead to the break thanks to a three from Harvey, Bryant's seventh of the opening 20 minutes.
- Bryant, however, turned the ball over 12 times leading to 15 Fairfield points.
- Fairfield would take a 31-30 lead early in the second half as Halon Rawlins' three capped a 7-0 run that spanned both halves.
- It was part of a 15-4 run to open the half for the Stags, making it 41-34 with 14:00 remaining.
- Harvey stunted the run with a wing three at the 13:50 mark.
- The Stags would grab their largest lead of the game, 49-41, on a pair of free throws from Wucherpfennig with 8:50 left.
- Edelen then sank consecutive threes to give the Stags a 55-44 lead with 7:00 to play. He would add his fourth – he finished 4-for-4 from three – two minutes later to put Fairfield up 14.
- Bryant would pull within nine, 61-52, on a Nnani dunk at the 2:04 mark.
- The Bulldogs would keep the game under 10 but the Stags were able to close it out from the free throw line.
Stats
- Bryant finished the game 21-of-54 (38.9 percent) from the field, 9-of-36 (25.0 percent) from three and 8-of-17 (47.1 percent) from the line.
- The Bulldogs held a 42-36 edge on the glass.
- Fairfield forced 20 Bryant turnovers, finishing with 17 steals.
- The Stags also held a 28-5 edge on points off turnovers and an 18-0 edge on fast break points.
- Pasha posted his first double-double of the year with 12 points (4-10 FG) and 10 boards. He added two blocks.
- Crispin collected 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting.
- Harvey finished with 10 points, six rebounds and two blocks.
- Duane Thompson added eight points and eight boards.
- Fairfield was led by 17 from Declan Wucherpfennig and 14 from Tony Williams.
Game Notes
- Bryant and Fairfield were meeting for the first time in DI program history.
- The Bulldogs finished 0-2 in the inaugural AE-Metro Challenge.
- Bryant is now 65-18 at home since the start of 2020-21 season.
- Bryant blocked a season-high eight shots.
- Pasha posted his first-career double-double.
- Harvey has scored in double-figures in all three games and has 19 double-figure scoring games in his career.
- Bryant finished below 50 percent from the line for the first time
- Crispin's 10 points are a career-high.
- Lyons' three marked the first points of his collegiate career.
- Tabales posted five assists for the second time this season.
- Thompson set a career high with eight rebounds.
Up Next
Bryant makes the short trip to Providence to take on the Friars Tuesday night. Tip is set for 7:00 p.m.
