Bryant

Bryant (76) vs. Mount Saint Mary (79) 01/25/2020

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Game #88 out of 353      24% complete

My nephew Eric is enrolled at Mount Saint Mary’s seminary. My wife and I combined a visit to him with a basketball game.  After a one-hour ride from Dulles, we were given a tour by Eric of the impressive grounds. The seminary was originally constructed in 1808 and is home to the seminarians for housing and classrooms.

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There is a very cool story about the National Shrine Grotto of Lourdes which is tucked up on a hill behind the school. As you can see below, the statue of Mary makes an impressive sight. Many Catholics from around the world make the pilgrimage to the grotto. It is not uncommon to see visitors fill 5-gallon jugs from the spring water available to the public. For years, floodlights had lit the campanile (statue of Mary) until the Grotto staff decided to save some money by turning them off. Soon after, a government agent contacted Mt. St. Mary University requesting that the lights go back on. Pilots flying into nearby Camp David needed the illuminated campanile to guide them. I always thought Camp David was nearer D.C. but it is very close to the  Emmitsburg, MD campus.

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I saw this pennant in the arena. I do believe a disclaimer should be put on the banner stating that this is Division 2 basketball.

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I have a pet peeve about scoreboards. I believe that they should always show the current point total of the players in the game. There was a Bryant player Juan Cardenas averaging 4 points a game who was lighting it up. He ended up with 20 points but I had no clue how well he was doing.

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Kudos to the home crowd of the Mountaineers! They were loud and into the game the whole way. The game went down to the last minute with the Mountaineers pulling it out.

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We had breakfast before heading out at Bollinger’s in nearby Thurmont, MD. I purposely go for these old family restaurants over the chain places. I had an excellent bacon & egg sandwich. My wife loved her eggs, bacon and home fries. Our friendly waitress made for an enjoyable experience . We sat near a fire which reflected out the window into the windshield of our car. I did a double take thinking our car was on fire.

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I leave you with a beautiful sunrise from the Mount Saint Mary campus.

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Next Game: Morgan State at Maryland Eastern Shore 01/27/2020

Bryant (85) Vs. Fairleigh Dickinson (80) 01/04/2016

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#24 of 351

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While most of you were enjoying the triple OT game between Kansas and Oklahoma, I was taking in a game in Hackensack, New Jersey. Because of the student break, there were no pep bands or cheerleaders. Due to the cold night, there were only 468 fans in attendance.

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The gym was very small but cozy. It is hard to believe that a D-1 program has a facility like this but I imagine it must be very fan friendly for a more meaningful game. During a time out, the PA announcer yelled “Who wants some T-shirts? Make some noooooooise!!!!”. The announcer was greeted by silence. During the next time out, he tried again. I think a few fans who were uncomfortable the first time around stood up and waved their arms to appease the announcer. I did too. A student tried to throw me a t-shirt but missed horribly and threw it into a face of an unsuspecting  student. He could probably use the t-shirt more than me.

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I was amused by the Fairleigh Dickinson coach Greg Herenda. When he wanted to get his players’ attention or to emphasize a play call, he would do a repetitive 2 foot stomp that echoed throughout the empty gym.

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I was very impressed with Bryant freshman Marcel Pettway. He is a bit undersized as 6’5” for a forward but is very strong and overpowered FDU  with 26 points.

FDU make a big comeback to close out but Bryant held on for the 5 point victory. Both teams lack that big center which would make them better suited to handle to upper echelon clubs.

As always, I can’t explain it but I still enjoy watching these types of games between smaller schools in small gyms. That’s why I do what I do!

Stadium Journey: http://www.stadiumjourney.com/stadiums/stratis-arena-s557

 

St. Francis Brooklyn (51) vs. Bryant (61) 02/28/2015

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#14 of 351

Can Bryant University spend a couple of bucks putting up signs on the campus to the Chace Arena? Even the arena building itself does not have the name on it. I was driving around for a few minutes before I luckily found the team bus parked in front.

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I did a double take looking at the program seeing that Bryant played St. Francis four times in the year. There are two St. Francis teams in the league –  one from Brooklyn and one from Pennsylvania. I can’t think of another league that has this situation.

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I was very impressed with the Bryant student section. They were loud the entire game. Given the fact that St. Francis was 15-2 in the NEC, the win by Bryant (11-6 in the NEC) was an upset.

St. Francis had a player Gunnar Olafsson from Iceland. I have never seen a collegiate basketball player from Iceland before. I would have gone far enough to say that Iceland did not have a basketball within its borders.

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A shout out to Stadium Journey for recommending Parente’s Restuaraunt down the road. I would have driven right by this place otherwise. I finished the evening off with salmon, fries and garlic bread.

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Review from Stadium Journey: http://www.stadiumjourney.com/stadiums/chace-athletic-center-s716