Bulldogs pull off improbable win
Friday, January 14, 2011
Trailing by 23 points in the first half, the Bulldogs stormed back to pull off an improbable, 69-61, win over Quinnipiac at the TD Bank Sports Center in Hamden, Conn.
A preseason favorite in the Northeast Conference, the Bobcats entered Thursday with an 11-3 record, including a victory over the University of Rhode Island in December. They led by 23 points with four minutes remaining in the opening half, but the Bulldogs (4-13, 2-3 NEC) outscored them, 54-25, in the second to secure their first road win of the season.
Alex Francis led Bryant with 22 points and eight rebounds while Frankie Dobbs finished with 15. To put Thursday’s win in context, the Bulldogs hadn’t won a true road game since Feb. 18, 2010 at Wagner -- their only win of the ’09-10 season. They missed their first 17 shots Thursday and trailed 23-3 with 6:24 remaining in the opening half. Bryant hit only three field goals the entire half and trailed by 21 points at the break.
The Bulldogs began their comeback by opening the second half on an 18-6 to close to within nine. Francis promptly took over, scoring seven points during a 13-2 run to give Bryant its first lead, 46-44, with 10:35 remaining.
The two teams exchanged leads until a 3-pointer by Cecil Gresham with 1:40 to go gave Bryant the lead for good. Coupled with Saturday’s win at home against St. Francis, the Bulldogs have won back-to-back games for the first time since February of 2009 -- the first season of its Division I transition.
Since the process began during the ’08-09 season, Bryant has won 13 games, including Thursday’s remarkable comeback. Deontay Twyman led the Bobcats (3-2 NEC) with 14 points while Ike Azotam and Dominique Langston each had 11 rebounds. Corey Maynard chipped in with 10 points for Bryant. The Bulldogs will return to action Saturday at Sacred Heart.
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