Bulldogs survive Ravens upset bid; John Williams nets 22

SMITHFIELD, R.I. (February 26, 2005) - Sixth-seeded Bryant University survived a serious scare from 11^th-seeded Franklin Pierce and posted a 60-57 victory in first round action of the Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball tournament at the Chace Athletic Center this afternoon.

Bryant advances to Monday's quarterfinal round, where the Bulldogs will travel to Manchester, N.H., to battle third-seeded Saint Anselm College (21-6, 16-6 NE-10), who earned a bye through the first round, at 7 p.m. Franklin Pierce sees its season come to a close after posting a 9-19 record overall (7-15 NE-10). The last time the Ravens suffered as many defeats was their inaugural NCAA Division II season in 1988-89, when they posted an 8-20 mark, going 2-12 in the New England Collegiate Conference.

Junior John Williams (Springfield, Mass./Longmeadow) led Bryant with a game-high 22 points. Sophomore Chris Burns (Merrimack, N.H./Merrimack) added ten points as he hit two-of-five from three-point range to go with a 4-4 effort at the free-throw line. Senior Mike Williams (Ellington, Conn./Ellington) chipped in six points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals.

Senior Mario Correia (Brockton, Mass./Massasoit) and sophomore Dan Hammond (Brunswick, Maine/Brunswick) each grabbed a game-high eight rebounds. Hammond also registered two assists and two blocks.

Freshman swingman Mitchell Johnson (Nassau, Bahamas/Cushing Academy) led Franklin Pierce with 19 points and five rebounds. Sophomore Sean Mayo (Saco, Maine/Thornton Academy) registered 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field, three rebounds and two steals.

Sophomore Darryl Minnifield (Boston, Mass./Brookline) contributed six assists, four boards and three steals, while juniors Pierre Sully (Jamaica Plain, Mass./North Cambridge Catholic) and Justin Powell (Brookline, Mass./Brookline) along with sophomore Nazim Senaldi (Istanbul, Turkey) each grabbed five rebounds.

The game featured 12 lead changes and eight ties (10 & 8 in the first half). Bryant led by three at the break (35-32), closing the half out with a 7-2 run in which Mike Williams scored four points.

Mayo scored a hook shot with 4:08 remaining the first half to put Franklin Pierce up 32-31, but the Ravens next basket came 4:06 into the second half with a Mayo dunk to cut their deficit to five (39-34) after John Williams opened the stanza with four points.

Johnson scored a layup midway through the second to pull the Ravens within a point (41-40). Burns answered with a three and the Bulldogs opened a seven-point advantage (54-47) after a Nathaniel Sudlow (Brooklyn, N.Y./Tilden) dunk with 3:29 to play.

Franklin Pierce got a huge break when Sudlow was whistled for a technical foul for hanging on the rim and Johnson sparked a 6-0 Ravens run over a span of 26-seconds to cut the lead to a single point (54-53) with 3:03 remaining. Johnson converted the two free throws after the technical, then nailed an ally-oop pass from Sully, who then converted a fast-break lay-up off a feed from Mayo off his own steal.

Powell gave the Ravens their first lead of the half (55-54) with a put-back with 2:16 to play. John Williams answered with a drive to put the Bulldogs back up a point with 61-seconds to play. Johnson had a shot at the other end blocked by Mike Williams, forcing the Ravens to foul. Burns his two free throws with 40-seconds left, but Johnson pulled Franklin Pierce back within a point (58-57) with a jumper with 25-seconds left.

Mike Williams was fouled and missed the front end of his one-and-one, giving Franklin Pierce a chance to for the upset, but Johnson's baseline jumper was short with two-seconds left. Burns hit two free throws to put Bryant up three, but the Ravens turned the ball over, seeming to ice the win. While Hammond missed the front end of his one-and-one, the Ravens only had a chance for a desperation heave, which Senaldi fired up from the foul line extended on Bryant's end of the court, that caromed off the rim and backboard to end the Ravens season.

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