Bulldogs' late rally falls short

Bulldogs' late rally falls short

The progress is there. The victories aren’t – at least not yet.

A late surge by the Bryant University men’s basketball wasn’t enough Saturday as Columbia crawled back and held on for a 76-72 win at Levien Gymnasium in New York.

The Bulldogs (1-8) trailed most of the afternoon and even fell behind by as many as 13 points at the half, but a furious comeback capped by a Cecil Gresham’s go-ahead 3-pointer gave them a 68-67 lead with one minute remaining.

GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST

Columbia (6-4) retook the lead on a three by Steve Frankoski and opened up a four-point advantage on free throws by Noruwa Agho. Frankie Dobbs pulled Bryant to within one following a basket and a free throw off the ensuing foul, but the Lions hit each of their final free-throw attempts in the closing seconds to seal the win.

The Bulldogs shot just 9-of-32 in the first half and appeared to be on the verge of another blowout loss until the stormed back during a 12-minute stretch in which they outscored Columbia 29-14 to take the lead. The Bulldogs shot 42 percent in their second-highest scoring output of the season, but lost the battle of the boards, 36-30, and allowed the Lions to shoot nearly 50 percent from the field.

Greshman and freshman Alex Francis led the Bulldogs with 16 points apiece while Dobbs finished in double figures for the ninth consecutive game with 14 points – all in the second half. Dobbs also had 10 assists. Freshman Matthew Lee added a career-high 11 points. Agho led Columbia with a game-high 20 points, including 4-for-4 from 3-point range.

The Bulldogs are still searching for their first road win of the season, but have been much more competitive lately, including a 10-point loss at Farleigh-Dickinson on Dec. 2. Bryant will play at Boston College next Sunday before finishing its three-game road trip with a showdown against the Michigan Wolverines.