With ailing teammate 800 miles away, here's how Bryant basketball got back on track

SMITHFIELD — The real highlight of Bryant’s home victory Friday night occurred in the postgame locker room.

The Bulldogs jumped on a FaceTime call and talked with teammate Kvonn Cramer, who stayed behind in Cincinnati to receive medical care after a weekend road trip that featured far more than on-court adversity.

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Cramer’s prognosis while battling an undisclosed illness is improving by the day, and Bryant’s performance against Stony Brook mirrored his own personal fight. They used a deciding run midway through the second half to put away the Seawolves, 79-60, and snap a two-game skid.

“Us being the leaders, just trying to get everyone to lock in on the game at hand,” said Charles Pride, who finished with 20 points and eight rebounds. “We know he wishes he could be out here with us. Just playing for him.”

The Bulldogs had Cramer’s No. 23 jersey on the bench for warmups at Chace Center as they returned to action for the first time since a 97-71 loss at the Bearcats. The following game at Tulane was postponed, as Bryant’s ailing travel party flew back to Rhode Island at the midweek. Bulldogs coach Jared Grasso is over his second bout with the flu and feeling better both personally and professionally.

“You just don’t know,” Grasso said. “You see something like that happen to a 22-year-old freakish athlete — you don’t think that can happen. And when something like that does, it kind of puts into perspective how good we have it.

“Don’t take the great things we have for granted.”

How did Bryant get back on track to set up a weekend trip to Manhattan? Let’s review.

Encouraging news lifts Bulldogs' spirits

Cramer and Earl Timberlake (illness) were both held out of the matchup with Cincinnati. Timberlake also missed this game against Stony Brook but was healthy enough to sit on the bench with his teammates.

Couple that with Grasso’s update that Cramer could be released from the hospital this weekend and the Bulldogs carried a certain sort of uplifted spirit. They knocked down 17 3-pointers to tie a Division I program record and blew open what was just a two-point lead with 13:45 left.

“We love him dearly,” said Sherif Gross-Bullock, who poured in 19 of his team-high 21 points in the second half and added 11 rebounds. “When we see one of our brothers going down, it kind of hurts. But we just locked in and focused in.”

Stony Brook managed just three points over the next 6:04 after making it a 45-43 game. Gross-Bullock knocked down a 3-pointer from out high to spark what eventually mushroomed into a 19-3 run.

“When these two guys [Pride and Gross-Bullock] are right and our team is right, we’re a pretty good team,” Grasso said. “I loved the way we competed. I loved the way we played for each other.”

Antwan Walker added 14 points, five blocked shots and a team-high plus-18 rating through his 30 minutes. Bryant finished at 45.9% from long range and held the Seawolves to 38.7% from the field overall.

“It was going to be about us,” Grasso said. “It wasn’t going to be about Stony Brook. We had to get back to playing our style and doing what we do.”

Bryant shooters find their touch

The Bulldogs (8-3) wasted no time heating up from deep.

They were sitting at nine 3-pointers by halftime — that eclipsed the total they posted in each of their previous four full games. Bryant was a miserable 8-for-39 from deep against Cincinnati.

“I think we’re kind of on the back end of what we went through, which we’re happy about,” Grasso said. “Now the challenge for these guys is to go take care of their bodies moving forward.”

Myles Latimer finished with all of his nine points in the opening 20 minutes, connecting at 3-for-5 from 3-point range. Pride went 6-for-10, Gross-Bullock was 4-for-8 and Tyler Brelsford knocked down an early pair to end 2-for-4. Frankie Policelli finished 6-for-10 from beyond the arc for Stony Brook — his teammates were just 4-for-20.

“The best part of today for me was we went through a full shootaround and nobody was coughing,” Grasso said. “It’s been two weeks since we’ve been on a bus or at a practice or in a video session where there’s not coughing and sneezing.”

Rhode Island not welcoming to Stony Brook

The Ocean State hasn’t been kind to the Seawolves (2-7) this season.

Barring an unlikely matchup in March, they’ll finish 0-3 against local teams in this 2022-23 campaign. Stony Brook dropped back-to-back contests with the University of Rhode Island and Brown, 74-64 and 64-53, midway through November.

Policelli racked up a big double-double to lead his team, finishing with 18 points and 15 rebounds. It was a career high in boards for the Dayton transfer and New York native. Tyler Stephenson-Moore added 21 points on 10-for-19 shooting.

bkoch@providencejournal.com 

On Twitter: @BillKoch25 

STONY BROOK (60): Policelli 6-13 0-0 18, Fitzmorris 0-1 1-2 1, Pettway 0-6 0-0 0, Roberts 2-6 0-0 4, Stephenson-Moore 10-19 0-0 21, Sarvan 3-5 1-2 8, Clarke 2-11 0-0 6, Heiden 0-0 0-0 0, Muratori 1-1 0-0 2; totals 24-62 2-4 60.

BRYANT (79): Walker 6-10 1-1 14, Brelsford 3-5 0-0 8, Gross-Bullock 7-14 3-4 21, Pride 7-16 0-0 20, Ozabor 0-2 0-0 0, Latimer 3-6 0-0 9, Edert 2-5 2-2 7, Rochelle 0-1 0-0 0, Mosher 0-2 0-0 0, Kiggins 0-0 0-0 0, Marshall 0-0 0-0 0, Moon 0-0 0-1 0, Shannon 0-0 0-0 0; totals 28-61 6-8 79.

Halftime — Bryant 35-29. 3-Point Goals — Stony Brook 10-30 (Policelli 6-10, Clarke 2-6, Sarvan 1-2, Stephenson-Moore 1-4, Fitzmorris 0-1, Roberts 0-3, Pettway 0-4), Bryant 17-37 (Pride 6-10, Gross-Bullock 4-8, Latimer 3-5, Brelsford 2-4, Walker 1-3, Edert 1-4, Rochelle 0-1, Mosher 0-2). Rebounds — Stony Brook 33 (Policelli 15), Bryant 32 (Gross-Bullock 11). Assists — Stony Brook 18 (Clarke 7), Bryant 17 (Brelsford 6). Total Fouls — Stony Brook 12, Bryant 11. A — 900 (2,000).

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Bryant basketball defeats Stony Brook in men's basketball