Bryant men’s basketball moves another step closer to an America East title. Who did the Bulldogs beat?

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SMITHFIELD — There are certain areas of a basketball stat sheet that can tell a story.

Bryant’s men checked every box by halftime Thursday night and the rest of the evening was a relative cruise.

The Bulldogs were too big, too strong and too assertive to offer NJIT a way back. That’s what can happen when a conference leader hosts a struggler, and Bryant kept the Highlanders in their place at Chace Athletic Center.

Earl Timberlake and Rafael Pinzon both secured personal milestones while the Bulldogs eased to an 88-66 victory, another step closer to securing the America East regular-season title and corresponding No. 1 seed in the conference tournament.

Earl Timberlake, shown in a Feb. 7 game, scored 21 points to record his 30th career double-double in Thursday’s victory.

Timberlake recorded his 30th career double-double and Pinzon crossed the 1,000-point threshold with a jumper late in the second half. That matched Bryant’s largest lead at 80-50, and the outcome was secure long before that.

“Another balanced effort,” Bryant coach Phil Martelli Jr. said. “Five guys in double figures and major contributions across the board. It was our defense that separated us in the first half.”

The Bulldogs closed the opening 20 minutes on a 12-0 run and brought a 46-29 cushion into the locker room. NJIT missed its last 11 shots from the field and connected at just 35.7% for the evening. Timberlake’s lob for Barry Evans looping off the right wing was good for a two-hand slam to cap the burst.

“No one is complacent around here,” Evans said. “If our coach is still yelling at this time of year, it’s something good that we’ve got.”

Evans put together what Martelli called a “tremendous, tremendous day” in Tuesday’s practice here. That carried over to the game, as the junior wing hit for 15 points and 10 rebounds in just 27 minutes. Evans was still in the late stages of recovering from an illness and finally cleared to join his teammates for a typically grueling…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/bryant-mens-basketball-moves-another-101929122.html

Author : The Providence Journal

Publish date : 2025-02-14 10:19:00

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