Box Score
SMITHFIELD, RI—Junior forward Cecil Gresham's 14 points and 12 rebounds led Bryant to a 70-46 men's basketball win over visiting NJIT Tuesday night.
Gresham was one of three double-figure scorers for the Bulldogs, who took complete control by pulling away from the midpoint of the first half on and then pressing their advantage in the second half and expanding on the 16-point lead they had built at halftime.
Jerann Wright collected 13 points and Chris Birrell added 12 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists for Bryant, which is 5-3 since losing at NJIT, 61-51, on January 21.
Jheryl Wilson, by far the most effective regular player for NJIT on this night, topped the Highlanders with 16 points before rolling over his ankle hustling after a loose ball part way through the second half.
Freshman Ryan Regis, one of several Highlander reserves to see extensive playing time in the second half, was the top rebounder for NJIT, with eight. Brendon Lyn came off the bench for a team-leading six assists, as well.
In NJIT's win over Bryant back in January, the Highlanders shut down the Bulldogs early, building a 31-15 halftime lead.
The rematch was nothing like that, however, as Bryant got its 15th point with 12:35 still left in the half. The Bulldogs eventually scored 35 points in the half to reverse matters on the Highlanders, who trailed by 16 midway through the rematch, instead of leading by 16, as they had in the first meeting.
Bryant shot 56 percent (14-25) from the field in the half, including 4-for-8 on three-pointers. The Bulldogs also made NJIT pay dearly for its nine first-half turnovers, as Bryant held a 14-2 advantage in points-off-of-turnovers, with the 12-point edge accounting for most of Bryant's 16-point overall halftime lead.
Eight of the nine Bryant players who appeared in the first half got into the scoring column. Meanwhile, Wilson had 10 of NJIT's 19 first-half points.
The game was relatively close for nearly 11 minutes, with Bryant up by just five, 19-14, when Wilson hit the first of his three three-point baskets with 9:10 remaining in the half.
However, Bryant outscored the Highlanders, 16-5, over the last nine minutes of the first half and the game was never close again.
The Bulldogs continued to build on their lead in the second half, leading by at least 21 points over the last 11 minutes.
NJIT freshman walk-on James Cruso, who was playing in his native Rhode Island, got to play five minutes and connected on his first shot, a three-pointer, and also got his first college blocked shot.
The Highlanders will play their next three games far from home, starting with a two-game weekend trip to Texas. They will visit Houston Baptist for a game Saturday night and then play at Texas-Pan American on Monday night. They will close out the away portion of the 2008-09 schedule with a game at Utah Valley on February 28. All three games will start at 7 pm in their local time zones.
