Bryant basketball is one win away from the NCAA Tournament. Here’s what happened Tuesday

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Barry Evans (5) slams one home in the first half of Tuesday’s America East semifinal matchup against Albany. 3/11/25

SMITHFIELD — There turned out to be no real danger of Albany staging a second upset at Chace Athletic Center this season.

Bryant steadily turned up the heat and pulled away like the America East regular season champion should, booking a date in Saturday morning’s conference title game.

The Bulldogs were simply too domineering in the paint offensively and inside the 3-point arc defensively. They wore the Great Danes down to the point of surrender in a 91-78 victory, one that pushed them through this semifinal round of the conference tournament.

There was no late suspense like Bryant (22-11) endured late in the quarterfinals against Maryland Baltimore County. The Bulldogs needed to focus all the way to the wire in that 85-74 victory, with Earl Timberlake and Rafael Pinzon netting 19 of their final 22 points. Albany (17-16) was knocked out for good when Connor Withers drilled a wing 3-pointer to make it 85-60 with 6:27 to play.

The Great Danes slipped into a 20-point hole before making a push to get back in contact. They staged a desperate 8-0 run to make it a 68-56 game, with Kheni Briggs driving to the basket for a layup. Bryant immediately stepped on the gas again, with Timberlake’s defense board and slalom up the floor leading to a layup that made it 78-58 with 7:59 to play.

The Bulldogs doubled up Albany in the paint, 56-28, and allowed just 17-for-37 shooting from 2-point range while setting the tone physically. Keyshawn Mitchell racked up a double-double with 21 points and 13 rebounds while Timberlake added 21 points on 10-for-13 shooting. Barry Evans came up a rebound shy of joining Mitchell, collecting 20 points and nine boards.

The Great Danes cut into what was a 14-point deficit to make it a 39-33 game at halftime. They closed on a 12-4 run over the final 3:29, holding Bryant without another field goal. Amar’e Marshall nailed a 3-pointer from the…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/article/bryant-basketball-one-win-away-031322867.html

Author : The Providence Journal

Publish date : 2025-03-12 03:13:00

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