Yale claims battle of Bulldogs
Bryant searching for answers after blowout loss
SMITHFIELD — The first month of the first regular season of the Jared Grasso era has been one to largely forget.
Bryant closed out the November portion of the schedule with yet another lopsided loss. This time, the tough times came at the hands of a Yale squad that never trailed en route to a 103-61 walloping at the Chace Athletic Center on Wednesday night.
The 42-point loss represented new terrain for a Bryant program that prior to facing Yale had already tasted defeat by 34 points (Rhode Island), 24 points (Brown) and 23 points (Seattle). It would be one thing if Bryant fought the good fight and still came out on the wrong end. Right now, the Bulldogs are having a hard time staying within shouting distance of anyone.
The primary reason for the early-season doldrums could be traced to the absence of junior Ikenna Ndugba, the Bulldogs’ primary point guard. Ndugba has yet to suit up this season and is scheduled to undergo shoulder surgery on Thursday. If everything checks out fine, he’ll rejoin the fold when Northeast Conference play begins in early January.
“We didn’t know until last week that (Ndugba) was going to have surgery. We had planned to play a certain way and losing him has hurt us on both ends of the floor,” said Grasso after his team fell to 1-5. “We’ve really played point-guard less since the start of practice.”
With Ndugba ruled out for the month of December, the onus could fall on junior Adam Grant to run the show in his absence. Like many of his teammates, Grant had a tough night against Yale. He missed all five of his first-half field goals and didn’t see a shot drop through the net until there was 10:51 remaining in the contest.
Grant ended up with 14 points but shot just 4-of-12. For the fourth time in six games, the Bulldogs managed more turnovers (19) than assists (six). That speaks volumes about the need to tinker with the most critical position on the floor.
“We’re going to go back as a staff and try and figure out what we’re going to do for the rest of this stretch without Ikenna and move forward accordingly,” said Grasso.
Jordan Bruner paced Yale with 18 points while Miye Oni and Azar Swain each netted 15 points. Yale shot 59 percent for the game, outscored Bryant in the paint by a 44-22 margin, and scored 25 points off Bryant turnovers.
Byron Hawkins was the top point producer for Bryant with 18 points, though he needed 19 shots to get there. Sabastian Townes got off to a strong start before fouling out with 11 points.
Save for Hawkins and the redshirt senior’s 14 points, Bryant spent the vast majority of the first half swimming against the tide. Yale broke a 6-6 tie with a 22-2 blitz that saw the Ivy League Bulldogs score baskets from virtually every spot on the floor. The visitors from New Haven made six of their first seven shots from deep to enjoy a 20-point lead (28-8) with not even eight minutes gone by.
Yale’s first-half advantage peaked at 22 points before Hawkins did his part in loosening the stranglehold. He netted five straight points that momentarily helped to get Bryant’s deficit down into the teens. Grant finally got on the scoreboard with two free throws at the 4:44 mark before Yale once again enjoyed a 20-point cushion. Hawkins scored his team’s final seven points of the opening half but it was Yale that had the last laugh with 29 seconds left. Swain drilled a three that capped off a half that saw Yale shoot 59 percent from the floor and make 8-of-11 shots from distance.
The visiting Bulldogs also turned 11 first-half turnovers into 22 points. In Bryant’s five losses, the local Bulldogs have trailed by an average of 13.4 points at halftime.
Any hope of Bryant staging a miraculous comeback was quickly dashed. Yale kept on humming along and opened things up considerably (8444) with 9:33 remaining. Yale’s biggest advantage was 47 points with 4:46 left.
“We have to improve dramatically defensively,” said Grasso.
Just like the Brown massacre that took place on Sunday, Bryant will have two days to lick its wounds before returning to action. A matchup against New Hampshire at the Chace Center awaits Saturday (1 p.m.).