Senior Day blues for Bulldogs
Grant scores 24 points in loss to Sacred Heart
SMITHFIELD — The Bryant University basketball team was forced to sing the Senior Day blues after E.J. Anosike and his Sacred Heart teammates got hot down the stretch to post an 83-76 win Sunday.
The Bulldogs had a load of trouble on the defensive end in a game they desperately needed to keep their hopes alive to hosting a game when the Northeast Conference quarterfinals tip off next week. The bid to finish at least .500 in the
NEC was also dashed due to the Pioneers shooting 49 percent from the field and placing five regulars in double figures. Sacred Heart (17-12, 10-6 NEC) made 10 threes on its way to completing a season sweep of a Bryant team that put forth an honest effort in the eyes of head coach Jared Grasso.
When it came to getting stops, the Bulldogs simply didn’t register enough. Just like he was in the first meeting of the season with Bryant, Anosike proved to be a major force with 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting and nine rebounds. The junior also passed for three assists with the biggest one coming when Bryant came with double team. Anosike kicked it back to the perimeter to Kinnon LaRose, who made a back-breaking three that put Sacred Heart up 11 points (80-69) with 1:53 remaining.
“He dominated the game. He was terrific and I told him that as he walked off the floor,” said Grasso. “That’s what a junior who’s worked hard and improved looked like.”
After taking two steps forward over the past week with back-to-back wins over Merrimack and St. Francis Brooklyn, the Bulldogs on Sunday allowed 80 points for just the second time during NEC play. For the most part, Bryant (14-15, 6-10 NEC) was able to keep pace with its counterpart with senior Adam Grant leading the charge with a gamehigh 24 points on six 3-pointers.
Fellow Bryant senior Juan Cardenas delivered one of his finest performances of the season with 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting while freshman Charles Pride achieved double-double status (10 points, 13 rebounds).
The fact that Bryant won the second-chance points category by a healthy margin (25-12) was a sign that Grasso’s team fought hard right until the final whistle. The Bulldogs trailed by a dozen at halftime and got as close as three points on a couple occasions during the second half. Getting over the hump, however, proved too tall an order.
“I thought we guarded better in the second half. They’re a good offensive team, but I thought we played hard. We fought for loose balls. We took charges. We competed. For me, that’s what it’s about,” said Grasso after the Bulldogs’ fifth game in 11 days. “Did we win the game? No. Were we close enough? We were right there. We had them on the ropes and didn’t make enough plays. Unfortunately that’s the way the game went.”
The aforementioned three by LaRose (13 points) was part of an 8-0 sequence that carried Sacred Heart to the finish line after a timeout with 3:21 left and Bryant down 74-69. Bryant’s response to the Pioneers’ game-clinching surge was a missed shot, a turnover, and one free throw.
Sunday saw Grant become the Bulldogs’ all-time leader in career minutes played (4,157) and score in double figures for the 86th time in his Bryant career. Grant followed by back-to-back charges drawn by Cardenas and freshman Benson Lin with a trey that brought Bryant to within three with 13 minutes left, though his next field goal didn’t come until after the home team sank into an 82-70 hole.
Grant wasn’t recruited to Bryant by Grasso. The latter credited the former as one of the main reasons why Bryant has jumped from 10 wins last season the current amount (14). The Bulldogs still have a shot to exceed last year’s NEC win total (six) when they close out the regular season with road games at Fairleigh Dickinson (Thursday) and Wagner (Saturday).
“I think we’ve cleaned up his game a little bit and he’s become more efficient,” said Grasso. “He’s done everything we’ve asked him to do. Coming off three wins [in 201718, which was Grant’s sophomore season at Bryant] and a program that was in a bad place, he decided he wanted to be a part of this.”
Grasso also sang the praises of Cardenas, a native of Columbia who was part of the coach’s first recruiting class at Bryant. Cardenas seemed poised for a breakout senior year after making major contributions as a junior. Those best-laid plans came up short due to a variety of reasons.
“Juan took a chance when this program statistically was one of the worst in the country. He had options and has worked really hard. He fought through not having great English when he got here and breaking his foot the first day he was back on campus last fall after having a great summer,” said Grasso. “Juan has been through a lot, but I’m proud of the player and person he’s become. He’ll always be part of the success moving forward. He’s part of this turnaround. I’m comfortable with the direction the program is heading and it’s because of guys like Juan.”
Besides Grant and Cardenas, the Bulldogs also honored outgoing seniors Tanner Johnson and SaBastian Townes, who missed his sixth straight game Sunday. It’s been an injury-plagued season for Townes, who’s appeared in just nine games after earning AllNEC honors during his junior campaign.
“Bash is done. His knee has gotten bad again so he’s seeing a couple more doctors,” said Grasso when asked if there was a chance for Townes to return before the final chapter in the 2019-20 season is written. “It’s unfortunate that the year didn’t go as planned after coming off the best year of his career. The knee never healed quite the way he had hoped.”
The Bulldogs will enter the final weekend of the regular season in a tie for seventh place (with Fairleigh Dickinson). The top eight teams advance to the NEC playoffs.