Bryant falls in NEC tournament, 75-69

Bryant falls in NEC tournament, 75-69

In a season full of the unexpected, perhaps it's somewhat fitting the unexpected happened again for Bryant University.

Even though the Bulldogs held a seven-point halftime lead, 4th seeded Bryant  fell to #5 Mount St. Mary's, 75-69, in the Northeast Conference Quarterfinal matchup at the Chace Athletic Center in Smithfield Wednesday night.

The loss effectively ends Bryant's season - their first fully-qualified year in Division I - with a record of 19-11.

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With just under five minutes to play, the Mountaineers led by nine.  Three huge buckets from senior Vlad Kondratyev pulled the Bulldogs within five points, 63-58, with 3:34 left on the clock.  Two free throws From Mount's Raven Barber extended the lead, then two freebies from Frankie Dobbs and 1-of-2 at the line from Alex Francis  pulled the Bulldogs back within four with just under three minutes to play.

Shivaughn Wiggins answered right back for the Mountaineers just before the shot clock expired to extend the lead to six. Wiggins knocked down a pair from the line to put the Mount advantage at eight points, 69-61 with 1:27 left on the clock.

A huge three from Dobbs pulled Bryant back within five but time was against the Bulldogs with just over a minute remaining.  Bryant was unable to convert from the field in the final minute as dead-on free throw shooting by the Mountaineers secured the win.  For the game, Mount St. Mary's converted a phenomenal 26-of-27 from the line, while the Bulldogs managed to hit 11-of-15.

Francis led Bryant with 25 points and eight rebounds, while sophomore guard dyami Starks added 19 points.  Rashad Whack led four Mount scorers in double figures with 19 points, as MSM advances to the NEC semi-finals.  Bryant, with one of the greatest one-season turnarounds in Division I history (improving 17-games, from 2-28 last year to 19-11 this year), needed to win the NEC in order to reach the NCAA Tournament.  The Bulldogs must now wait until all conference tournaments are completed to find out if the NIT, CBI or CIT post-season events will offer an invitation.