The men's basketball team had a successful Thanksgiving break, winning two of three road games over the long weekend.
Brown 70, Bryant 68
Bruno leveled its record to 3-3 in dramatic fashion on Wednesday night as guard Garrett Leffelman's '11 last-second put-back propelled the Bears to a hard-fought victory.
With the game tied, 68-68, with 40 seconds to go, Brown held the ball for a final shot. Peter Sullivan '11 missed his jumper, and Matt Mullery '10 — who led all scorers with 21 points — rebounded the ball but missed his follow-up. Leffelman then grabbed the ball and dropped his lay-up through the net with 0.3 seconds left to play. He was fouled by Bryant forward Clay McMath on the play but intentionally missed his free-throw attempt to let the clock run out.
"When Peter had the ball, I cut to the hoop looking for a pass and ended up in a great position to rebound once he shot the ball," Leffelman said.
Bruno's victory was all the more satisfying when considering the start of the game. The Bears came out sluggishly on the home court of their in-state rivals and let the Bulldogs jump out to a 19-5 lead with just under 12 minutes remaining in the first half.
"I think I'll look back at the Bryant game as a turning point in the season for me individually and as a highlight for our team as a whole," Leffelman said.
Brown 69, USP 48
The Bears handily defeated their Division II opponents in the penultimate game of the Philly Hoop Group Classic, beating the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia on Friday afternoon.
Bruno jumped out to a 12-0 lead in the early minutes, as Adrian Williams '11 and each Sullivan sunk threes. USP would cut the lead to eight points, 15-7, on a jumper by Zaahid Holloman later in the first half but would not get any closer for the remainder of the game.
Brown ended the first half up 29-17 and did not let up in the final 20 minutes. The team would extend its lead to 27 points, 54-27, midway through the second half, helped by strong three-point shooting (13 of 32, 41 percent).
Williams led all scorers with 12 points, with Matt Sullivan and Mullery both chipping in 11. Tucker Halpern '13 crashed the boards for a team-high eight rebounds. USP forward Adewale Adefami led the Devils with a double-double, scoring 10 points and coming down with 11 rebounds.
Siena 99, Brown 79
The Bears ended their Philly Hoop Group Classic campaign with a 3-1 record after falling to the defending Metro Atlantic champions Siena on Saturday afternoon.
Brown came out strong, building a 17-12 lead five minutes into the game. But after that, the Bears could not keep up with the Saints' run-and-gun offense. Siena strung together 17 straight points in the next 4:35, as Siena point guard Ronald Moore scored two baskets and assisted on two others in that span.
"They shot the ball very well," Mullery said. "But we were able to run with them for a while."
Siena was devastating from behind the arc, sinking 10 threes on 19 attempts. For the Bears, Andrew McCarthy '13 scored 18 points and pulled down 11 rebounds, both career highs.
The Bears return home Wednesday to face Holy Cross at 7:30 p.m. in the Pizzitola Center.
"Once we cut down on turnovers and bear down on defense, we are a dangerous team," Mullery said.
ADVERTISEMENT
