Kiss makes program history
Bryant wing records program’s first triple-double
Bryant redshirt senior wing Peter Kiss was in the midst of another efficient offensive game last month against Wagner, but in the second half of the Dec. 17 game against the Seahawks, Bryant coach Jared Grasso challenged him to do more to help his side win the Northeast Conference contest.
Specifically, Grasso wanted Kiss to get physical in the paint after failing to grab a rebound in the previous three halves.
Kiss secured three rebounds in the second half of that victory and Thursday afternoon against Central Connecticut, the Rutgers transfer did all the little things in a blowout victory. Kiss became the first Bulldog since the program transitioned to Division I to record a triple-double, as he produced 12 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists in just 30 minutes to lead Bryant to a 92-67 pasting of the Blue Devils at the Chace Athletic Center.
“With the triple-double, I just threw the ball to my teammates and my teammates made shots,” Kiss said after the Bulldogs fifth straight victory.
“I didn’t really do anything, it’s all them. I saw [how many] rebounds, but I didn’t know the assists, I was just hooping trying to get the ball to my teammates and they took care of the rest.”
“Peter’s a good basketball player,” Grasso said. “There were people who when he came here said ‘He’s a scorer.’ The thing that jumped out at me the most after coaching him for a long stretch is his basketball IQ is really good and he can really pass the ball. He has very good vision and plays the game the right way. He’s a guy who can rebound and I’ve challenged him to do it.”
Bryant (8-2, 4-1 Northeast Conference) can finish off its second straight sweep of a conference backto-back when the teams return to Chace Friday at 4 p.m. No Bulldog played more than 30 minutes in a contest the home side led by double figures for over 30 minutes. Junior shooter Chris Childs came off the bench to score a game-high 20 points on just eight shots.
The Bulldogs hadn’t played since a Dec. 21 road win over UMass, but they didn’t show any signs of rust. Bryant shot 49.3 percent from the field and connected on 10 of its 26 3-pointers. Outside of a stretch in the second half when the Blue Devils cut a 27-point deficit to 18, it was a complete performance from the current conference leader.
“A lot of that is about being mature,” Childs said about the impressive performance despite the long layoff. “Our coaching staff talked about that. And just having the expectation that no matter what’s going on – whether we played four games in seven days or haven’t played in two weeks – when you get on the court it’s just basketball. The reason that we’re having so much success is we’re playing unselfishly.”
Central Connecticut (2-6, 2-3 NEC) hadn’t been held to fewer than 78 points in its first four conference games, but the Bulldogs played some of their best defense of the season in the first half to open up an insurmountable 24-point advantage. The Blue Devils shot just 32.4 percent from the field and 21.4 percent from 3-point range to go along with eight turnovers in the first half.
“We made a big emphasis on guarding them,” Grasso said. “Their offensive numbers coming into this game were tops in our league – they were averaging about 85 points a game. They were the top of a bunch of statistical categories. They have a bunch of good players; guys who can make plays off the dribble, guys who can make shots, so we made a big emphasis in the last four or five days of guarding the ball and knowing personnel and guarding shooters.”
Greg Outlaw led the visitors with 18 points and five rebounds, while Zach Newkirk chipped in with 11 points. The problem for the Blue Devils was they couldn’t make shots in the first half and the hosts jumped out to a commanding 16-1 advantage that only grew as the half meandered along.
Kiss recorded six points, seven rebounds and six assists in the first half, which put him in position to make school history in the second half.
“He’s a big, physical, athletic guard,” Grasso said of Kiss. “He’s a multiple-position guy because you can play him at the point and obviously we play him off the ball more than not, but he has point-guard instincts. He can guard wings and he can rebound like an athletic wing, so he’s a unique player who can do a lot of things on both ends of the floor. That’s what excites me about him, I still think his basketball is ahead of him.”
The only real drama in what turned out to be a sloppy second half was whether Kiss would record the triple double. All three elements came just 1:36 apart midway through the second half.
Kiss grabbed his 10th rebound with 9:46 remaining in the game and he scored his ninth and 10th points from the foul line just 16 seconds later to increase the lead to 25 points. The final element of the feat was achieved with 8:12 remaining when Kiss found Charles Pride for a 3-pointer. After scoring another bucket and grabbing three more rebounds, Kiss went to the bench for the final five minutes.
“I’m way more efficient scoring the ball and that’s one thing that’s changed,” Kiss said about his growth since his freshman season at Quinnipiac four years ago. “I’ve become a more consistent shooter and I take care of the ball better. I’ve been around the block and played a couple of big games here and there, so I just know what to expect and ready to go when they need me.”