March 12, 2005

Box Score

Waltham, Mass. - Paced by junior guard John Williams (Springfield, Mass.), sixth-seeded Bryant University upset the number three seed, Adelphi University, 69-48 in the first round of the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Northeast Regional Saturday afternoon at Bentley College's Dana Center. Williams had 23 points, including 17 in the first half to lead the Bulldogs to the win.

Trailing by seven at the break, Adelphi (22-7) cut the lead to four in the opening seconds of the second half on a trey by junior forward Jamaal Wagner (Jamaica, N.Y.), but that was the closest that the Panthers would get the remainder of the game. Bryant (21-8) embarked on a 21-10 run following the Wagner three and led 64-44 with 4:40 left in the game. Eleven of the twenty-one points during that stretch were from the charity stripe, including six from sophomore guard Chris Burns (Merrimack, N.H.), who finished with 13 on the afternoon.

Adelphi struggled from both the field and the free throw line in the second half, shooting just 23.3 percent (7 of 30) from the field and 3 of 8 from the line. Bryant was not much better from the field, just 33.3 percent (6 of 18), but where the difference was at the foul line. The disparity at the foul line was significant; Bryant was 19 of 27 in the second half alone and attempted twenty more free throws than Adelphi over the course of the game.

The Bulldogs jumped out to an early 8-0 lead in the first 1:20 of the game. Mario Correia (Brockton, Mass.) knocked down a jumper and a trey from the corner for the first five points of the game and then John Williams followed with a three of his own for the early advantage. Trailing 13-6, Adelphi would cut the Bryant lead to one with 13:41 remaining in the first half after back-to-back threes by Kimani Blaize (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and Wagner.

The two teams traded baskets over the next eight minutes with Bryant never relinquishing the lead. A pair of three-pointers from John Williams would stretch the Bulldog lead to eight, 34-26, with 1:32 left in the first half. Adelphi would strike right back as Erik Martin (Laurelton, N.Y.) converted a lay-up as he was fouled and made the resulting free throw to cut the deficit to five. Bryant would end the half emphatically however as 6-10 Mike Williams (Ellington, Conn.) followed up a three-point attempt with a put-back dunk with a second remaining in the first half to give the Bulldogs a 36-29 lead at the break.

Adelphi was led by Wagner who scored a team-high 14 points and grabbed five rebounds. James Samuels (Uniondale, N.Y.) and Blaize chipped in 11 points apiece for the Panthers.

"We made a run early (in the second half) and cut the lead to four," Head Coach James Cosgrove said. "But then we got in a little bit of foul trouble and made some mistakes and when you lost the battle at the foul line, 27-8 your in trouble."

Release courtesy of Bentley Sports Information