Resilient Bryant Gets Third Division I Win

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – There are times when a lot of hard work that seems unrewarded finally does pay off. When it does, the feeling is pretty good, and sometimes it drives home a lesson learned.

Such was the case with Bryant’s third Division I win, a 56-43 decision over visiting Fairleigh Dickinson on Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs have had some bumps in the road in their first transition season to Division I, being on the short end of a string of blowouts in December. They entered Saturday being outscored by an average of 15 per game, losing four times by 25 or more points.

All along, head coach Tim O’Shea has raved about his team and how they have gone about everything. So it’s not a stretch to say that this win brought out some happy feelings.

“They’re just quality kids, and they’re being rewarded for their perseverance and their resiliency,” said O’Shea. “It’s really nice to see, because most people look at a half-empty gym on a Saturday afternoon, with two teams with losing records, but for the situation we’re in this year in going to Division I, this means a lot to these kids, and I thought they played with a lot of pride. This game meant a lot to these guys.”

In fact, when a few players seemed a bit down at the half after the Knights rallied late, O’Shea tried to nip that in the bud. The Bulldogs were up 25-13 at one point, only to see the Knights get within one at the half by scoring the last 11 points.

“At halftime, Coach kind of jumped the bench because we weren’t really into it, and saw some down faces,” said forward Nick Pontes, who paced the Bulldogs with 18 points to match his season high. “When we came back out, we had so much more energy out there.”

That energy helped lead to a run of 17 unanswered points that broke a 30-30 tie and gave the Bulldogs the lead for good. They had to stave off a late rally by the Knights, who got as close as eight before Bryant scored the final five points of the game. The 43 points is the lowest point total for a Bryant opponent this season.

For his part, Pontes has really come along, scoring in double figures in seven straight games. There’s no question the potential to be a consistent double-digit scorer inside is there, and he can be a better rebounder as well. The difference in recent games came with an important lesson regarding practice.

“It really started with practice,” said the junior forward. “(O’Shea) got on me for not playing hard in practice, and once I started to really play hard in practice, I started to play a lot better in the games.”

Pontes is just one example of what has made this season enjoyable for O’Shea despite the team’s 3-15 record. O’Shea said he hasn’t had to coach attitude or effort, and that’s a big reason the team has improved all along. Pontes sat out last season to concentrate on academics, at a time when he wasn’t doing well at all. Now Pontes has just about done a complete 180 in the classroom, and it’s no accident that he’s more productive on the court as well since a person’s life off the playing field is reflected in their on-field performance as well.

Getting the wins is a bonus for this team, as O’Shea is already enjoying the job immensely. The players all understand what the jump means in terms of difficulty, and that’s made O’Shea’s life easier than anyone might imagine.

“People call me up and think I’m on a suicide watch,” said O’Shea. “I have as good a group of kids as I’ve ever dealt with in my life on a daily basis. If you have that, you can enjoy coaching even if you’re not winning a lot. I actually really enjoy this group.”

With the lessons learned and the perseverance that was rewarded again on Saturday, it’s easy to see why O’Shea is a happy camper. His team was full of happy people on Saturday as well.

Other Notable Games

• Wake Forest 78, Clemson 68: The Demon Deacons continue to roll, picking up a great win at Clemson to remain undefeated. They should be the new No. 1 team in the polls.
• Louisville 69, Pittsburgh 63: Another undefeated team falls for the first time thanks to a strong second half by the Cardinals.
• Syracuse 93, Notre Dame 74: Luke Harangody did all he could (25 points, 16 rebounds, 6 assists), as did Kyle McAlarney (24), but they didn’t have enough support to overcome six Orange players in double figures.
• Oklahoma 69, Texas A&M 63: The Aggies have been flying under the radar, and a win over the Sooners would have changed that a bit.
• Arizona State 61, UCLA 58 (OT): A nice win for the Sun Devils, who had to fight back late in the second half to send it to overtime.
• Stanford 75, California 69: After losing two tough ones last weekend, Stanford picks up a good win in the first of three straight at home.
• USC 65, Arizona 64: A weekend sweep of the Arizona schools puts the Trojans right back in the mix at 3-2 in the Pac-10.
• Marquette 91, Providence 82: The Friars let a great opportunity for a signature win slip away in this one.
• Florida 80, Arkansas 65: The Razorbacks fall to 0-3 in SEC play, which makes one wonder if they might be better off in the Big 12 given their wins over Oklahoma and Texas.
• Duke 76, Georgetown 67: Eight straight wins for the Blue Devils with this one, which extends their non-conference home winning streak to 68 games.
• Washington State 74, Oregon 62: While the Cougars move back above .500 in Pac-10 play, the Ducks fall further into the abyss at 0-6.
• North Carolina State 76, Georgia Tech 71 (OT): The Yellow Jackets fall to 0-4 in ACC play, while the Wolfpack get their first ACC win.
• George Mason 71, James Madison 57: The Patriots will cruise into Boston on Wednesday with a 7-0 CAA mark.
• Hofstra 57, Northeastern 52: The Pride hand the Huskies their first CAA loss, avenging an earlier defeat in Boston.
• VCU 61, Old Dominion 44: A convincing win by the Rams in this big rivalry puts them at 6-1, tied for second in the CAA. They look to be hitting their stride now.
• Wichita State 74, Creighton 61: The Shockers get their first Valley win at home over the Bluejays.
• Butler 59, Illinois-Chicago 52: The Bulldogs continue to roll in the Horizon League, as this road win puts them at 7-0.
• Siena 78, Fairfield 62: The Saints sweep one of their top challengers with this win on the road.
• Cornell 71, Columbia 59: The Big Red begin defense of their Ivy League title. With this win, road teams are 3-0 early on in Ivy League play.
• Holy Cross 68, Bucknell 56: After some non-league struggles, the Crusaders improve to 3-0 in Patriot League play with a nice road win over their arch-rival.
• Boston University 81, Binghamton 64: A solid road win for the Terriers, while the Bearcats have lost three straight.
• Liberty 91, VMI 80: The Flames hand the Keydets their first Big South loss behind a career-high 35 points from Seth Curry.
• Radford 65, High Point 52: The Highlanders pull into a tie for first atop the Big South, improving to 6-1.
• Oral Roberts 64, Western Illinois 54: In the “some things never change” category are the Golden Eagles, who had non-conference struggles but are 6-1 in Summit League play and a half game back in the standings.