The Bryant men’s basketball team opens America East play on Saturday as it welcomes Maine to the Chace Athletic Center. Tip is set for 2:00 p.m. Saturday starts a 16-game conference schedule for the Black and Gold. Bryant will play home league games each of the four Saturday’s in the month of January. The Particulars Opponent: Maine Location: Chace Athletic Center (Smithfield, R.I.) Date and Time: Saturday, Jan. 4 – 2:00 PM EST Live Stats: Sidearm Watch: ESPN+ Tickets: Buy Now Game Notes: Bryant | Maine Social Media: Facebook | X | Instagram | #AEMBB THE SERIES Bryant is 3-2 all-time against Maine. The home team has won all five games in the series. That includes an 84-58 victory for the Bulldogs in last year’s America East Quarterfinals. Rafael Pinzon scored a Bryant DI playoff record 35 points to lead the Bulldogs to the victory last March. BRYANT CLOSES NON-CONFERENCE PLAY Bryant closed non-conference play with a 6-9 overall record. The Bulldogs were 4-9 against DI opponents. The Black and Gold posted a losing non-conference record for the first time since the 2021-22 season. B5 READY FOR TAKEOFF Barry Evans is enjoying a strong start to his Bryant career. The St. Bonaventure transfer enters league play having scored in double figures in 13-of-15 games this season. This comes after Evans recorded double digits just twice in 65 games over two seasons with the Bonnies. All told, Evans enters Saturday averaging 13.1 ppg and is tied for the team lead with 7.5 rpg. BRYANT IN THE AMERICA EAST Saturday marks the beginning of Bryant’s third season in the America East. The Bulldogs are 19-13 in two seasons. Bryant went 8-8 in 2022-23 and 11-5 last season. The Bulldogs finished tied for second in the league standings last season and marked Bryant’s third double-digit win total in the last four years. Prior to the 2020-21 season, Bryant hadn’t won double-digit league games since the 2014-15 season. Look deeper over the last two seasons and Bryant is 11-5 at home and 8-8 on the road in America East contests. FIVE MORE THINGS TO KNOW Bryant enters league play ranked third in the league in scoring (82.7) but last in the league in scoring defense (80.1). The Bulldogs lead the league in rebounding (40.5), leading the league with 13.1 offensive rebounds per game. Earl Timberlake has been on a heater entering league play, having scored 16+ points in each of his last six contests. He has three 20-point efforts in that span, ranking third in the league with 16.3 ppg. He also ranks third in rebounding and second in assists. Rafael Pinzon leads the conference with 18.8 ppg and is currently ranked fifth nationally in three-point field goal percentage. Pinzon has missed Bryant’s previous three games. Barry Evans is Bryant’s third leading scorer, averaging 13.1 ppg on the year. Evans has four double-doubles on the year, collecting 14 points and 10 rebounds on Monday at Grand Canyon. Connor Withers begins his sixth season of America East basketball on Saturday. Withers spent four years at UMass Lowell before coming to Bryant. He was an All-Rookie selection in 2019-20. He is averaging 10.1 ppg this year. Categories: Sports