2021–22 Bryant Bulldogs men's basketball team

The 2021–22 Bryant Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Bryant University in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulldogs, led by fourth-year head coach Jared Grasso, played their home games at the Chace Athletic Center in Smithfield, Rhode Island as members of the Northeast Conference. They finished the season 22–10, 16–2 in NEC play to win the regular season championship. They defeated Central Connecticut, Mount St. Mary's, and Wagner to win the NEC tournament championship. As a result, the Bulldogs received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, the school's first-ever trip to the tournament, where they lost to Wright State in the First Four.

2021–22 Bryant Bulldogs men's basketball
NEC regular season and tournament champions
ConferenceNortheast Conference
Record22–10 (16–2 NEC)
Head coach
Associate head coachPhil Martelli, Jr.
Assistant coaches
  • Chris Cole
  • Eamonn Mahar
Home arenaChace Athletic Center
Seasons
2021–22 Northeast Conference men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
Bryant162 .8892210 .688
Wagner153 .833216 .778
LIU126 .6671614 .533
Merrimack*108 .5561416 .467
Mount St. Mary's99 .5001416 .467
St. Francis Brooklyn711 .3891020 .333
Sacred Heart612 .3331020 .333
Saint Francis (PA)513 .278921 .300
Central Connecticut513 .278824 .250
Fairleigh Dickinson413 .235422 .154
* ineligible for the 2022 NCAA tournament due to transition period
2022 NEC tournament winner

Senior guard Peter Kiss led NCAA Division I in scoring with a 25.2 points per game average.[1]

On March 29, 2022, the school announced that the season was the last season for the team in the NEC as they would join the America East Conference on July 1, 2022.

Previous season

In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Bulldogs finished the 2020–21 season 15–7, 10–4 in NEC play to finish in second place. In the NEC tournament, they defeated Sacred Heart in the semifinals[2] before losing to Mount St. Mary's in the championship game.[3] They received an invitation to the College Basketball Invitational, where they lost in the quarterfinals to Coastal Carolina.[4]

Roster

2021–22 Bryant Bulldogs men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearHometown
G1Joe Moon IV6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)190 lb (86 kg)SoWestland, MI
G2Erickson Bans5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)175 lb (79 kg)SoPawtucket, RI
G3Adham Eleeda6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)210 lb (95 kg)GSToronto, Ontario
G4Tyler Brelsford6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)183 lb (83 kg)FrEllicott City, MD
G5Charles Pride6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)200 lb (91 kg)JrSyracuse, NY
G10Luis Hurtado Jr.6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)215 lb (98 kg)GSMérida, Venezuela
G11Max Zakheim5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)157 lb (71 kg)FrBergenfield, NJ
G12Timmy Kiggins6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)180 lb (82 kg)JrWestbury, NY
F13Mike Marshall Jr.6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)185 lb (84 kg)FrWeymouth, MA
F14Liam Dunfee6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)225 lb (102 kg)FrNahant, MA
F15Greg Calixte6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)235 lb (107 kg)GSMount Vernon, NY
F22Grant Coleman6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)220 lb (100 kg)RS FrMahomet, IL
G30Chris Childs6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)185 lb (84 kg)SrBronx, NY
G32Peter Kiss6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)200 lb (91 kg)GSNew York, NY
G33Mike Iuzzolino6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)180 lb (82 kg)FrPittsburgh, PA
F34Hall Elisias6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)230 lb (104 kg)GSValley Stream, NY
F50Josh Ozabor6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)220 lb (100 kg)FrJohannesburg, South Africa
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: December 1, 2021

Schedule and results

NEC COVID-19 policy provided that if a team could not play a conference game due to COVID-19 issues within its program, the game would be declared a forfeit and the other team would receive a conference win. However, wins related to COVID-19 do not count pursuant to NCAA policy.[5]

Date
time, TV
Rank#Opponent#ResultRecordSite (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
October 25, 2021*
7:00 pm
NicholsW 107–71 
Chace Athletic Center (1,400)
Smithfield, RI
Non-conference regular season
November 9, 2021*
7:30 pm
FisherW 122–54 1–0
Chase Athletic Center (1,250)
Smithfield, RI
November 12, 2021*
6:00 pm, ESPN+
at Rhode Island
Sunshine Slam campus game
L 64–83 1–1
Ryan Center (5,455)
Kingston, RI
November 15, 2021*
7:00 pm, ACCNX
at ClemsonL 70–93 1–2
Littlejohn Coliseum (5,411)
Clemson, SC
November 20, 2021*
12:00 pm
vs. Bethune–Cookman
Sunshine Slam Bracket B Semifinals
L 75–81 1–3
Ocean Center 
Daytona Beach, FL
November 21, 2021*
12:00 pm
vs. Holy Cross
Sunshine Slam Bracket B Consolation Game
W 78–62 2–3
Ocean Center 
Daytona Beach, FL
November 26, 2021*
2:00 pm, NESN/ESPN+
at BrownW 65–59 3–3
Pizzitola Sports Center (874)
Providence, RI
November 28, 2021*
4:00 pm
DartmouthL 61–63 OT3–4
Chase Athletic Center (759)
Smithfield, RI
December 3, 2021*
8:00 pm, ESPN+
at No. 15 HoustonL 44–111 3–5
Fertitta Center (7,051)
Houston, TX
December 5, 2021*
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at CincinnatiL 58–73 3–6
Fifth Third Arena (7,924)
Cincinnati, OH
December 8, 2021*
7:30 pm
New HampshireW 76–59 4–6
Chase Athletic Center (625)
Smithfield, RI
December 11, 2021*
6:31 pm, SNY/ESPN3
at Stony BrookL 78–86 4–7
Island Federal Arena (1,930)
Stony Brook, NY
December 19, 2021*
5:30 pm
at CornellCanceled due to COVID-19 protocols at CornellNewman Arena 
Ithaca, NY
December 22, 2021*
11:00 am
Eastern KentuckyCanceled due to COVID-19 protocols at BryantChase Athletic Center 
Smithfield, RI
NEC regular season
December 29, 2021
7:00 pm
at Central ConnecticutW 80–76 5–7
(1–0)
William H. Detrick Gymnasium (1,658)
New Britain, CT
December 31, 2021
1:00 pm
Sacred HeartW 85–82 6–7
(2–0)
Chase Athletic Center (503)
Smithfield, RI
January 6, 2022
7:00 pm, ESPN3/SNY
at WagnerL 81–84 OT6–8
(2–1)
Spiro Sports Center (1,317)
Staten Island, NY
January 8, 2022
2:00 pm
at Fairleigh DickinsonW 1–0 (Forfeit) 6–8
(3–1)
Rothman Center 
Hackensack, NJ
January 15, 2022
1:00 pm
Mount St. Mary'sW 73–66 7–8
(4–1)
Chase Athletic Center (240)
Smithfield, RI
January 17, 2022
7:00 pm
Saint Francis (PA)W 82–52 8–8
(5–1)
Chase Athletic Center (600)
Smithfield, RI
January 21, 2022
7:00 pm
at MerrimackW 79–63 9–8
(6–1)
Hammel Court (893)
North Andover, MA
January 23, 2022
1:00 pm
St. Francis BrooklynW 85–68 10–8
(7–1)
Chase Athletic Center (985)
Smithfield, RI
January 27, 2022
7:00 pm
MerrimackW 76–67 11–8
(8–1)
Chase Athletic Center (1,200)
Smithfield, RI
January 30, 2022
1:00 pm, CBSSN
LIUW 88–81 12–8
(9–1)
Chase Athletic Center (750)
Smithfield, RI
February 3, 2022
7:00 pm
at Saint Francis (PA)W 89–82 13–8
(10–1)
DeGol Arena (0)
Loretto, PA
February 5, 2022
4:00 pm, ESPN3
at Mount St. Mary'sW 62–61 14–8
(11–1)
Knott Arena (2,784)
Emmitsburg, MD
February 10, 2022
7:00 pm
at Sacred HeartW 99–86 15–8
(12–1)
William H. Pitt Center (663)
Fairfield, CT
February 12, 2022
2:00 pm
at LIUL 88–99 15–9
(12–2)
Steinberg Wellness Center (593)
Brooklyn, NY
February 17, 2022
7:00 pm
Central ConnecticutW 75–61 16–9
(13–2)
Chase Athletic Center (1,575)
Smithfield, RI
February 19, 2022
1:00 pm
Fairleigh DickinsonW 105–93 17–9
(14–2)
Chase Athletic Center (1,805)
Smithfield, RI
February 24, 2022
7:00 pm
at St. Francis BrooklynW 86–69 18–9
(15–2)
Daniel J. Lynch Gym (368)
Brooklyn, NY
February 26, 2022
4:00 pm
WagnerW 78–70 19–9
(16–2)
Chase Athletic Center (2,650)
Smithfield, RI
NEC tournament
March 2, 2022
7:00 pm, NEC Front Row
(1) (9) Central Connecticut
Quarterfinals
W 73–59 20–9
Chase Athletic Center (2,650)
Smithfield, RI
March 5, 2022
6:00 pm, ESPN3
(1) (4) Mount St. Mary's
Semifinals
W 70–69 21–9
Chase Athletic Center (2,650)
Smithfield, RI
March 8, 2022
7:00 pm, ESPN2
(1) (2) Wagner
Championship
W 70–43 22–9
Chase Athletic Center (2,650)
Smithfield, RI
NCAA tournament
March 16, 2022*
6:40 pm, TruTV
(16 S) vs. (16 S) Wright State
First Four
L 82–93 22–10
UD Arena (9,999)
Dayton, OH
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern.

Sources[6][7]

References