John Williams' 30 points leads Bulldogs offense 

SMITHFIELD, R.I. (January 29, 2005) - Bryant University jumped out to an 18-point halftime lead and never looked back in posting a 68-56 win over Franklin Pierce in Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball action at the Chace Athletic Center this afternoon.

Junior guard John Williams (Springfield, Mass./Longmeadow) torched Franklin Pierce for 30 points as he hit 11-of-17 from the field, including 6-11 from three-point range, to go with three rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Senior Mario Correia (Brockton, Mass./Massasoit) added nine points and five rebounds, while sophomore Chris Burns (Merrimack, N.H./Merrimack) chipped in eight points and three boards off the bench. Senior Mike Williams (Ellington, Conn./Ellington) registered seven points, a team-best six boards and three blocks.

Freshman Mitchell Johnson (Nassau, Bahamas/Cushing Academy) led Franklin Pierce with 14 points (12 first half) and a game-high seven rebounds. Sophomore Sean Mayo (Saco, Maine/Thornton Academy) added eight points, four boards and two blocks, while classmate Nazim Senaldi (Istanbul, Turkey) chipped in eight points.

Bryant jumped out to a 14-4 lead just four minutes into the game thanks to three three's from John Williams and a conventional three-point play from Mike Williams.

Franklin Pierce closed to within five points (23-18) midway through the half thanks to ten-straight points from Johnson. However, Bryant held the Ravens without a field goal for a nine-minute span during a 14-0 run which broke open a 19-point (37-18) edge just before the break.

Mayo scored the first four points of the second half to pull the Ravens within 14 points (42-28) two and a half minutes into the stanza, but that would be as close as they would get before a late rally, as Bryant used a 13-4 stretch to take a 57-32 lead with 10:35 to play.

The Ravens closed the game with a 17-4 run to pull within 12 points at the final buzzer. Senaldi scored five points and freshman Lonnie Armstrong (Fresno, Calif./Edison) scored the first points of his Franklin Pierce career with a game ending three-pointer.

Franklin Pierce (6-14, 4-11 NE-10) is back in action on Wednesday when it hosts Assumption College at 7:30 p.m. Bryant (13-6, 9-6 NE-10) visits UMass Lowell on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.

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