SMITHFIELD — The reality of upsetting a top-10 team on the road?
It’s a wonderful achievement. But last Saturday night’s win at Florida Atlantic would have been significantly dampened if Bryant had failed to follow through on Monday.
The Bulldogs were sharp early and faltered in the second half. They showed just enough grit down the stretch to finish off Howard, a team that rolled to its conference title and corresponding NCAA Tournament berth last season.
Daniel Rivera, Earl Timberlake and Sherif Gross-Bullock finished defensive stops with rebounds inside the final 1:40. That bought enough time for Rivera and Timberlake to seal this one at the foul line, as Bryant held off the Bison, 67-61, at Chace Athletic Center.
More:Bryant basketball makes history. Here’s how the Bulldogs stunned No. 10 Florida Atlantic
The Bulldogs saw an 18-point lead melt all the way down to four before stabilizing. They followed program history against the Owls by moving to an even .500 on the young season. Stingy first-shot defense and some of its best ball movement of the season were the foundation for Bryant to prevail here.
“Really proud of the effort to respond,” Bryant coach Phil Martelli Jr. said. “These last couple of days have been hard. Saturday was great, but we barely got any sleep.”
More:Here’s what coach Phil Martelli Jr. said after Bryant basketball’s stunning win at FAU
Bulldogs get off to a good start
It seemed like an easy night in the making with 12:58 left. The Bulldogs opened a 56-38 cushion when Rivera slithered and scooped his way to a layup along the left block. Howard called timeout seemingly devoid of answers, and the crowd on hand sensed this one was all but over.
The Bison hit back behind a 14-0 shutout off second chances, cleaning the offensive glass to help mount a 14-0 run. Bryce Harris laid up a putback, Jelani Williams tossed in a runner and Seth Towns knocked in a pair of free throws to make it a 56-52 game with 8:30 to play.
“We had a lead — we kind of lost it,” Rivera said. “But we just stayed together as a team.”
Gross-Bullock, the reigning America East Player of the Week, drove the left side and dropped home a two-hand dunk to stop the bleeding. Rafael Pinzon’s jumper from the foul line with 2:04 left made it a 63-57 game, and Howard never got closer to the lead than two possessions. It was a different finish than the Bulldogs authored exactly two weeks ago, falling late to Manhattan in the season opener.
“We were rolling along and it kind of stalled for a little bit,” Martelli said. “There was no quit. We got amazing efforts across the board.”
Bryant couldn’t have played better basketball through the opening 27 minutes. Timberlake started 8-for-8 from the field and the Bulldogs were on their way to an assist-to-turnover margin of better than 2 to 1. Their halftime lead grew by six points despite Gross-Bullock being held scoreless until his breakaway dunk with 18:02 left.
“We come out, play defense, and whatever we get on offense, we get it,” Rivera said. “If we stay together playing defense, that’s what’s going to build our offense.”
The Bulldogs (3-3) closed the first half on an 8-0 run to match their largest lead at the break. They went into the locker room with a 36-24 cushion after Connor Withers beat the buzzer with a 3-pointer out high. The Bison (2-4) didn’t score again after a Marcus Dockery 3-pointer from the left wing capped their own 8-0 run with 2:59 left.
Withers was a perfect 4-for-4 from deep and Timberlake connected at 5-for-5 from inside the arc during the opening half. Gross-Bullock dished out a team-high five assists and was a plus-11. Bryant finished with 11 assists against just three turnovers in the first 20 minutes.
“They’ve all bought into that,” Martelli said. “They know they can get easier stuff if they share the ball. Now they’re trusting it.”
Howard found it tough sledding at the offensive end — 28.1% shooting in the first half, including 5-for-17 from 2-point range. The Bulldogs blocked five shots and generally made life difficult for the visitors with their morphing zone and man-to-man looks. Towns, the former Harvard star, and suburban Boston native Shy Odom shared the Bison scoring lead on the night with 16 points apiece.
Earl Timberlake leads the way for Bryant
Timberlake collected a game-high 19 points and five rebounds while Withers chipped in 15 points and didn’t commit a turnover. Rivera added seven points, five assists and a game-high 13 rebounds in 35 minutes. Bryant is set for a day off on Tuesday, an early Thanksgiving team dinner on Wednesday night and more travel on the holiday to face Xavier on Friday afternoon.
“We’ve grown up a lot,” Martelli said. “One of the things we put on top of the board in pregame — the first thing I write — is, ‘Team.’ We’ve grown up as a team.”
On X: @BillKoch25
HOWARD (61): Magbegor 0-0 0-0 0, Odom 6-16 3-6 16, Dockery 2-15 0-0 6, Harris 4-7 2-4 11, Strong 0-4 0-0 0, J.Williams 4-11 0-0 8, Towns 4-10 5-8 16, Hairston 0-2 2-2 2; totals 21-66 12-20 61. BRYANT (67): Withers 5-7 1-2 15, Brelsford 1-2 2-2 5, Gross-Bullock 3-12 2-4 9, Timberlake 8-12 3-4 19, Rivera 3-7 1-2 7, Pinzon 2-9 0-2 4, Edert 2-3 0-0 6, Latimer 1-4 0-0 2; totals 25-56 9-16 67.
Halftime — Bryant 36-24. 3-point goals — Howard 7-27 (Towns 3-5, Dockery 2-11, Harris 1-2, Odom 1-3, Hairston 0-2, Strong 0-2, J.Williams 0-2), Bryant 8-23 (Withers 4-5, Edert 2-3, Brelsford 1-2, Gross-Bullock 1-7, Rivera 0-1, Latimer 0-2, Pinzon 0-3). Fouled out — Withers. Rebounds — Howard 39 (Towns 9), Bryant 35 (Rivera 13). Assists — Howard 13 (J.Williams 5), Bryant 15 (Gross-Bullock, Rivera 5). Total fouls — Howard 16, Bryant 16. Records — Howard 2-4, Bryant 3-3. A — 754 (2,000).