Rafael Pinzon had a very hot shooting day on Saturday afternoon scoring a game-high and career-high 35 points, in leading Bryant University to an 84-58 win over Maine in an America East men’s basketball quarterfinal game played at the Chace Athletic Center in Smithfield, Rhode Island.
#6 seed Maine led by as many as four on a three-pointer by Jaden Clayton three minutes into the first half. They had their final advantage at 14-13, before Miles Latimer knocked down a three-pointer for Bryant for a two point lead and the Black Bears would never lead again. With the score even at 16-16, Pinzon buried his third of four first half three-pointers that pushed the Bulldogs in front for good. That was part of an 14-2 run, and the hosts would extend it to as many as 15 in taking a 47-36 lead to the halftime break.
Maine would get back within four points twice in the first 3:34 of the second half, but that is as close as they’d get. Bryant turned it up a notch on offense and defense holding the Black Bears without a field goal and going on a 19-1 spurt over the next 7:41 to put it away. That was finished off by a jumper from Pinzon to increase a four point advantage of 49-45 to 68-46 with 8:45 left. The Bulldogs played without First Team All-Conference player Earl Timberlake, but picked up their play by shooting 11-17 from three-point range as a team.
Peter Filipovity led Maine in the loss with 16 points and six rebounds. Kellen Tynes and Quion Burns each added nine points, while Ja’Shonte Wright-McLeish along with A.J. Lopez chipped in five points a piece. The Black Bears shot just 32% from the floor, and finish their season with a record of 15-17. Maine has now gone 19 seasons without a conference postseason win, and has lost 18 straight playoff games. Pinzon shot 14-20 from the floor overall and 6-8 from the three-point arc as part of his 35 point performance in the win for Bryant. Daniel Rivera recorded a double double with 13 points, 15 rebounds, and four assists. Sherif Gross-Bullock also got into double figures with 12 points, nine rebounds, and six assists. The #3 Bulldogs are now 20-12, and will travel to #2 UMass-Lowell in the semifinals.
Recap by Chris Lessner
