SMITHFIELD, R.I. — The Bryant University Bulldogs outscored the Maine Black Bears 13-0 in the last 4 minutes, 43 seconds of the first half en route to a 65-52 women’s basketball victory in a mutual opener Friday night.
Bryant took a 36-20 lead at halftime and upped its advantage to 20 during the second half to keep the Bears at bay.
Guards Ivory Bailey and Tiersa Winder sparked the Bulldogs with 24 and 17 points respectively, with Winder scoring seven points during the pivotal 13-0 surge.
Both teams struggled offensively, particularly at the start of the game when the Bears managed only nine points in the game’s first 10 minutes as Bryant took a 14-9 advantage.
The Bulldogs held the Bears to a 38.2 field goal percentage (21 of 55) and outrebounded the Bears 40-31.
Maine was also plagued by 19 turnovers and the Bulldogs scored 18 points off the miscues.
Guard Sigi Koizar sparked the Black Bears with 16 points and forward Liz Wood chipped in with 11 points and six rebounds, but committed six turnovers.
Forward Bella Swan scored eight points in her first game for the Black Bears and grabbed five rebounds. Forward Sheraton Jones recorded six points and six rebounds, while guard Chantel Charles contributed with five assists and four steals.
Maine opened strongly in the second half, outscoring the Bulldogs 6-2 on layups by Swan and Charles and a Koizar jumper to cut Bryant’s lead to 38-26 with 18:02 left.
That was the closest the Bears would get as the Bulldogs methodically pulled away, capped by a 20-point edge with 4:57 remaining.
Maine’s Chris Gerostergiou hit a 3-pointer with 21 seconds remaining to cut into Bryant’s final margin.
The Bears return home for a 1 p.m. Sunday contest against Long Island University of Brooklyn at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor.
Men’s Basketball
VCU 85, Tennessee 69
Melvin Johnson scored 20 of his 23 points in the first half as the Rams won their season opener over the Volunteers in the inaugural Veterans Classic at the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.
Treveon Graham scored 15 points and grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds for VCU, which won its season opener for the ninth straight time. Terry Larrier chipped in 11 points off the bench and Jordan Burgess scored 10 for the Rams.
Josh Richardson scored 17 points but had seven of his team’s 19 turnovers as the Volunteers dropped their opener under new head coach Donnie Tyndall. Detrick Mostella also had 17 points in a reserve role, hitting three of Tennessee’s four 3-pointers.
Johnson’s second 3-pointer snapped a 14-14 tie to give VCU the lead for good and set off a 12-1 burst. He also had seven points in a 20-7 run to close the first half as the Rams took a 48-30 advantage into the break.
Virginia 79, James Madison 51
Justin Anderson was the ACC Sixth Man of the Year last season, but the guard showed he will be just fine as a starter, scoring a game-high 18 points and adding six rebounds to lead the visiting Cavaliers to an easy win in the season opener for both teams.
Anthony Gill scored 15 points and Malcolm Brogdon added 14 for Virginia. Darion Atkins, the only senior in the game, led both teams with 10 rebounds as Virginia had a 38-27 advantage on the boards.
Freshman Hari Hall had 15 points, including four 3-pointers, off the bench and Jackson Kent added 14 points for James Madison of the Colonial Athletic Association, which shot 28.3 percent from the field. Starting guards Ron Curry and Winston Grays were a combined 1-of-13 from the field, including 0-for-6 from behind the arc.
Women’s Soccer
UNE 1, Westfield State 0
At Biddeford, Edie Pallozzi scored her first goal of the season in the 20th minute to provide the University of New England all the offense it would need to defeat third-seeded Westfield State University in an Eastern College Athletic Conference Division III New England semifinal.
The second-seeded Nor’easters advance to Sunday’s title match, against the winner between No. 1 Wheaton College and No. 4 Framingham State University, set for Friday night.
With the loss, the Owls’ season comes to an end with a record of 13-6-2.
Moments after UNE sophomore goalkeeper Brielle Robinson quickly slid to her right post to deny a shot from in close by Westfield senior Asleigh Chretien, UNE turned play back down the left sideline. The ball popped loose from a tackle just inside the box, allowing Pallozzi to step in and loft her first touch into the upper right corner.
Robinson finished with eight saves for UNE (13-4-2) and Anne Stack made 10 for Westfield State (13-6-2).