Late surge helps LIU overcome Bryant
Balanced Bulldogs fall short against champs
By BRANDEN MELLO bmello@woonsocketcall.com
“We had them on their heels a little bit, but they made some plays down the stretch that we didn’t make. We have to get back to work and get better.”
— Bryant coach Jared Grasso
SMITHFIELD — Bryant first-year coach Jared Grasso said he doesn’t remember any of his January conference losses when he was an assistant coach at Iona for eight seasons, but that doesn’t make Saturday’s 79-70 defeat to LIU-Brooklyn any less frustrating for the Bulldogs.
After surrendering the first 10 points of the game to the reigning Northeast Conference champions, the Bulldogs methodically worked their way back into the game and eventually built a 57-53 advantage with 7 minutes, 21 seconds after junior guard Adam Grant made a pair of free throws.
The Blackbirds responded with an 11-3 run thanks to five straight points from Jashuan Agosto to take a lead they would never relinquish. In what became a chippy, foulfest, Derek Kellogg’s Blackbirds escaped the Chace Athletic Center with an important conference victory on the strength of a game-high 20 points from Julian Batts and superb 3-point shooting (10-for-23).
“They made some shots,
we had a couple of turnovers and missed some shots,” Grasso said. “They made plays down the stretch that we didn’t make. We’re a step
closer. I thought my kids played hard, fought and competed. We had them on their heels a little bit, but they made some plays down the
stretch that we didn’t make. We have to get back to work and get better. We’ll see them another time – hopefully two more times – and we’ll lace them up and be ready to go.”
Bryant (4-9, 1-1 NEC) had five players reach double digits, led by forward SaBastian Townes, who scored 13 of his team-high 16 points in the second half. Grant added 15 – on just 4-of-14 shooting from the field – while Byron Hawkins delivered 14 points, seven rebounds and a steal before fouling out late.
Fouls were a common theme in the second half of a game that featured 45 fouls and a pair of technical fouls. Ty Flowers was assessed a technical foul after a block in the second half and Grasso was given a technical foul with 32 seconds left when his frustration with the referees boiled over. Grasso had been on the referees for most of the second half because he felt his squad wasn’t being rewarded for drives to the hoop.
“I missed those calls, I’m not sure exactly what happened with the officiating today,” Grasso said diplomatically. “I guess they weren’t fouls. I didn’t see any of them. I’m not sure.”
The animosity between the teams boiled over with 22 seconds left when Townes was whistled for an offensive foul at midcourt when he set a screen that knocked down a Blackbird guard. The teams exchanged words following the play, but no technical fouls were assessed. Grasso and Kellogg shook hands after the game, but the two agreed the teams should just go to their locker rooms without shaking hands after a heated final minute.
“It’s guys playing hard, that’s what basketball is,” Grasso said. “It’s supposed to be tough and it’s supposed to be competitive. They have tough kids and we have tough kids. I don’t know exactly what happened, but I wanted to make sure we broke it up and there any wasn’t incident. … There was some chippiness and some talking during the game; we thought it was better to get our teams off the court.”
LIU-Brooklyn (7-7, 1-1 NEC) bounced back from Thursday’s road loss to Sacred Heart by scoring the first 10 points of Saturday’s contest. The Bulldogs sandwiched a shot-clock violation around a 3-pointer from Flowers and a Clark three-point play to start the game.
Freshman forward Patrick Harding entered the game with the Bulldogs down seven and immediately made a difference with his hard work in the paint. Harding grabbed five rebounds and produced an assist in the first half and was a plus-7 in 10 minutes to help the Bulldogs go into halftime down just a bucket.
After hitting a 3-pointer late in the first half for his first points of the game, Townes scored four straight points early in the second half to close the gap to one. The forward put the Bulldogs up 5250 with 10:34 to go when he finished off a three-point play, and his 3-pointer with 4:03 left made it a one-point game after the Blackbirds’ 13-4 run.
“He’s just a good player. If we keep throwing him the ball, eventually he’s going to find a rhythm,” Grasso said. “I have a lot of confidence in him and he’s playing at a very high level. He’s had games where he’s struggled in the first half and had 20-plus points in the second half. He’s not one of those guys where I get discouraged when he’s not playing well early. I have confidence in him with the way he works and leads.”
LIU-Brooklyn came into the game shooting just 31.9 percent from the 3-point line, but as has been the case throughout the season, the Bulldogs were victimized by the 3-pointer again. Of the Blackbirds final 29 points, 15 were scored from the 3-point line. Batts hit a pair of 3-pointers in the final 6:30, while Agosto and Flowers also hit backbreaking shots.
The Bulldogs now head out on a two-game road trip starting with Thursday’s trip to Maryland to take on Mount St. Mary’s. That contest is followed by Saturday’s game in Fairfield, Conn. against Sacred Heart. For Grasso, these early conference games are about developing an identity for late February and March.
“We just have to get better, there’s still 16 games left,” Grasso said. “We have to be playing our best basketball in February in March. I was in the MAAC at Iona in the last eight years, I couldn’t tell you a game we lost in January that I remember. I remember the ones in late February and March that really mattered. We have to be peaking at that time and win three games in March. That’s what it’s about at this level and in this league.”