Bulldogs bested by Pioneers, 72-46

Bulldogs bested by Pioneers, 72-46

Despite a seventh double-double effort on the season from sophomore Alex Francis, Sacred Heart defeated Bryant 72-46 Saturday afternoon at the Chace Athletic Center in Smithfield, RI.

Northeast Conference leading scorer Shane Gibson scored a game-high 34 points and shot 64.7 percent from the floor for the Pioneers, who improved to 13-14 overall, 7-7 in the NEC.  Francis scored 16 points and pulled down a game high 10 rebounds, but the Bulldogs managed only 36% shooting from the floor, and committed 21 turnovers. 

Justin Swidowski was the only other Sacred Heart player in double figures with 12 points, and Evan Kelley paced the Pioneers on the glass with seven boards. Sacred Heart also struggled with turnovers, giving away 17 in the game, but earned 20 points off of Bryant giveaways.  Frankie Dobbs had  six assists for the Bulldogs' offense.

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Bryant (2-24, 1-13 NEC) will leave home again this week for the final road trip of the 2011-12 season, traveling to Western Pennsylvania to take on Robert Morris (Thursday, 7 p.m.) and Saint Francis (PA) (Saturday, 11:30 a.m.) before returning home for the final two games of the year.