Bad day for Bulldogs
Sacred Heart’s stars outplay Bryant’s in blowout
FAIRFIELD, Conn. – If this was a boxing match, a good referee would have intervened and stopped proceedings before things got too out of hand. It was a total mismatch right from the opening tip.
Sacred Heart was much better than Bryant University on Saturday afternoon. The Pioneers dominated in coasting to an impressive 98-70 thumping of the Bulldogs. The Pitt Center turned out to be the royal pits for Bryant, which trailed by 24 points at halftime and was completely off the grid after the Pioneers built a 36-point lead with less than 10 minutes remaining.
Winning road games in college basketball has and will always be an incredibly difficult proposition. To follow up a hard-fought 66-59 win at Mount St. Mary’s with a performance
“We have to learn to be a little tougher and get a little bit better.” — Bryant coach Jared Grasso
where the opposition chased you off the court in blowout fashion … it seemed as if the Bulldogs took one step forward only to take two steps back.
Yes, the Bulldogs should take comfort in coming away with a split of their first two road games of NEC play. Saturday’s performance, however, was troubling in the sense that it resembled the losses that materialized before the 20-day training camp that coach Jared Grasso launched after Bryant fell by 17 points to Hartford at home on Dec. 12.
Against an NEC opponent, the Bulldogs got down big early and wound up spending much of the contest trying to keep their heads above water.
“We have to learn to be a little tougher and get a little bit better,” said Grasso after the Bulldogs dropped their sixth game of the season where the final margin was 20 or more points.
The most glaring difference between the Pioneers (7-10, 3-1 NEC) and the Bulldogs (5-10, 2-2 NEC) was that Sacred Heart’s two leading scorers lived up to the pregame billing while Bryant’s top two offensive weapons finished well short of their season averages.
Senior Sean Hoehn led the home team with 23 points – he averages 17.3 ppg, which is second best – while freshman Koreem Ozier added 16 points. Ozier is the Pioneers’ top producer at 18.8 ppg, though he’s played in just eight games.
On the flip side, Bryant juniors Adam Grant and SaBastian Townes found the sledding tough. Neither Bulldog cracked double figures as Grant finished with nine points on 3-of-11 shooting while Townes took just six shots and scored six points. On the season, Grant and Townes have combined for just over 30 points.
Byron Hawkins scored five of Bryant’s first nine points but ended up with just seven points in 25 minutes. The redshirt senior came in averaging 13.4 ppg.
“We need more out of Adam, Bash, and Byron,” said Grasso. “If they’re going to struggle at the same time, it’s going to be really hard for us to score the ball. We’re not a great team when those guys aren’t playing well.”
The Pioneers ended up with six players in double figures and shot 52.6 percent for the game. The Bulldogs tried different ball coverages but nothing seemed to work.
“We couldn’t guard them today and that’s on me as the coach,” said Grasso.
The seeds for a long afternoon were planted early. Sacred Heart took Bryant out of its comfort zone by hitting nine of its first 13 shots to grab a 26-14 lead. With under five minutes to go before halftime, the Bulldogs looked up at the scoreboard and saw a 20-point disparity.
“We looked like we were running in mud to start the game,” said Grasso. “You can use the excuse of a long trip but I don’t buy that. That’s what 19 year olds put in their head but everyone in this league deals with the same thing.”
The halftime break did little to cool off the Pioneers, who hit three of the first four shots of the second half to build a 30-point lead (58-28) with 17:34 remaining. Sacred Heart continued to pull away before Bryant made one final push in hopes of salvaging some pride. Freshman (and Connecticut native) Joe Kasperzyk finished with a career-tying 21 points.
“There’s an ebb and a flow to every season. There’s going to be a couple of games where you don’t have it,” said Grasso. “How we respond is going to be the most important thing. As a program, we’re moving in the right direction. Today was a bump in the road.”
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RIM RATTLERS: Amidst the game-long struggles, Bryant freshman Nino Hernandez was a bright spot with a career-high 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting. “He’s been working hard and put a lot of time into it. He saw results be- cause of his work ethic,” said Grasso. “He’s a guy who got a chance and will earn more of a role because of what you saw.” … Another Connecticut native who enjoyed the chance to play before friends and family was Bryant freshman Patrick Harding, who started and pulled down 12 rebounds. … The game featured three technical, two on Bryant (Grasso, senior Taylor McHugh) and one on Sacred Heart (head coach Anthony Latina). … Taking in Saturday’s game was former Bryant hoopster Bosko Kostur, who graduated last spring after appearing in 112 games during his Bulldog tenure. … Junior point guard Ikenna Ndugba (shoulder) missed his 14th straight game Saturday. “He’ll go back to the doctor (this week). His most recent appointment went well. His return date is still TBD,” said Grasso. “He’s close and they like where he’s at. My fingers are crossed that it’ll be soon.” … The Bulldogs shot 33 percent in the first half but rebounded to finish the contest at 41.7 percent. … A four-game homestand at the Chace Athletic Center begins this coming Saturday when Bryant hosts Robert Morris.