Box Score
Smithfield, RI - - -The St. Francis (NY) Terriers (11-17, 8-9 NEC) erased an 11-point second half deficit and went on to defeat the Bryant Bulldogs (1-28, 1-16) in overtime, 69-60, in a key Northeast Conference contest on Thursday evening. The Terriers will complete the regular-season slate at Central Connecticut State on Saturday afternoon with the winner clinching a berth in the upcoming NEC Championships. The Terriers must win on Saturday to make the field.
Junior guard Ricky Cadell took over in overtime as he scored 11 of his game-high 21 points in the extra session. Classmate Akeem Bennett was also in double-figures as he produced his fourth "double-double" of the season with 19 points and 11 rebounds.
The Terriers, who snapped a four-game slide, trailed 48-39 with 11:22 remaining in the contest after Chris Birrrell drained back-to-back treys for the Bulldogs. But St. Francis held the hosts to just four points during the rest of regulation and did just enough on the offensive end to force an extra period.
Junior forward Stefan Perunicic hit a long 3-pointer to cut Bryant’s lead to 50-46 at the 8:19 mark. Neither team could score until Terriers’ freshman Akeem Johnson (9 points, 11 boards) converted a layup to make it 50-48 with 4:24 remaining. Bennett then knotted the score at 50 apiece at the 3:57 mark as he drilled a jumper. Junior guard Justin Newton spotted the visitors their first lead of the game after he calmly hit a pair of free throws with 2:57 to go.
The score remained unchanged until Bulldogs’ guard Raphael Jordan (20 points, 11 rebounds) hit two clutch free throws with 28 seconds left to tie the game at 52-52. Both teams then had an opportunity to win the game in regulation. Bennett missed a layup attempt with eight seconds left for the Terriers and Adam Parzych misfired on a long 3-pointer as regulation time expired for Bryant.
St. Francis never trailed in overtime as they scored 11 of their 17 points from the charity stripe. Cadell opened the scoring with a 3-point bomb at the 4:10 mark, and then made three free throws after a Bryant basket to make it 58-54 with 3:17 left. Bennett hit a pair of free throws to extend the Terriers lead to six, and Cadell struck again with a trifecta after a Bulldogs’ hoop, which gave St. Francis a 63-56 advantage with 2:24 remaining. The Terriers hit 6-of-8 from the line the rest of the way to put the game out of reach.
The hosts took a 35-26 lead to the locker room at the break and then scored the first two points of the second half to take their largest lead of the game, 37-26, with 19:29 remaining in regulation.
The Terriers shot 38.2 percent (21-of-55) from the field but forced Bryant into 23 turnovers and outrebounded them by a 38-32 count.
Bryant shot 37.8 percent (17-of-45) but made 18-of-21 (85.7 percent) of their free throw attempts.