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Game 7-041: Wagner at Bryant
January 29, 2011 8:30 am ET by Kyle Whelliston

Wagner Seahawks at Bryant Bulldogs

January 27, 2011 7:00 pm
Chace Athletic Center
BBState Stats/Recap



We aging old-time sports fans who still remember television's rabbit-ears era (and know the difference between UHF and VHF), probably appreciate the 21st Century Full Court/#pixelvision reality more than most. Back then, we had to wait for Saturday to get a game-of-the-week. Now, it's like walking through an enchanted hallway. Through one door, there's a game in California. In the next, you're in North Carolina. Across the corridor, Texas. Magic, magic, magic!

Actually, the hallway metaphor is probably too concrete and physical. All of this movement through space is done with keypads and finger wags, so there's no real geographical reference at all. But at places in the Northeast Conference, you can still experience that feeling of discovery. Bryant University's Chace Center is a multipurpose facility with mulriple rooms and chambers; one just happens to be a gymnasium where the basketball teams play. There are collapsible bleachers that conserve space and expand an arena into a three-court practice area, and the gym can be secured with a few keyturns instead of an elaborate closing of gates.

In 2011, the kind of facility Bryant plays in seems so tiny, out-of-step... pathetic, even. It's a small Rhode Island school in the outer Providence suburbs that's making the move up to Division I after ripping holes in the Northeast-10 Conference for decades, and the Chace Center might seem painfully inadequate for basketball. Walking through a set of doors to a basketball game is certainly a disorienting adjustment, especially after going to lots of college basketball games at arenas with luxury suites, ribbon boards, padded seats, intricate concessions and $50 tickets. None of those places have windows through which passersby can watch the game for free.

But halfway through a second visit to Bryant, I finally drew the correct connection. A 90-minute drive west of Smithfield (in a modern automobile) is Springfield College, the place where Our Game was invented. Nobody living now was around for that. But the gymnasium where James Naismith hung the first peach basket was not optimized for spectators, or food consumption, or performance analysis, or commercial communication between third parties. Outsiders came in much later. At the beginning, the sport's purity came from its paucity of elements.



That place had doors too.

@midmajority Game Tweets

18:44 Game 7-041: Wagner at Bryant. I just ate an award-winning sandwich.
18:49 And in this room, we have... Division I basketball! #NECstyle http://img.ly/2SBQ
18:52 Ten minutes before tip, one of the shot clocks is blinking rhythmically to the beat of "All I Do Is Win." This may impact our game tonight.
18:54 Meanwhile, the PA plays "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" as Wagner warms up on the court. Oh, YOU.
18:56 Wagner 9-10, 5-3 in the NEC, coming off an L to Sacred Heart. Bryant 6-14 (league: 4-4), lost here to Monmouth in OT Sat. #youareinformed
18:58 RT @Nyghtewynd: @midmajority Forget the shot clock...WHAT ABOUT THE SANDWICH? :D
19:01 It's the tag line for J's Deli. You know those award-winners you don't think should have won? I'm like that with "The Hurt Locker" too.
19:02 The shot clock is fixed! We are ready to go.
19:08 Wagner starts three freshmen and wears Under Armour uniforms from the future. Everyone's last name seems to be Hurley.
19:11 Wagner's most intriguing frosshh: 6-11 Naofall Folahan, from the West African nation of Benin. He scored the Seahawks' first hoop. 6-2 WAG.
19:12 Someone told me there's another Benin native in Division I, at Villanova I think? African basketball: it's more than that Kevin Bacon movie.
19:17 6-6 tie six minutes into the game. The entire student side of the bleachers is completely full, lots of weeknight support. Great to see!
19:18 Another Wagner frosshh, 6-1 Latif Rivers, nails a #superhoop and runs down the court giving a #superhoopsalute. 9-8 Wagner at 13:14 1H.
19:23 Bryant's Cecil Gresham w/ one of the more interesting #omgdunxfails. Smacked it against the backboard, then swung on the rim for 10 seconds.
19:25 Giant NCAA sign over the doors: "RESPECT. It's the name of the game." Actually, the NOTG is basketball. Stop confusing me, NCAA!
19:27 Wagner shooting 3-for-14 from the floor, and Bryant has opened up a 16-9 lead. End of the first quarter here in Smithfield.
19:27 RT @polarscribe: @midmajority Wouldn't that be a T for hanging on the rim? Or were the refs feeling like the blown dunk was humiliating punishment enough?
19:28 The latter. But I am sitting next to the NEC official observer and he just made a 100-word entry in his grid sheet. @polarscribe
19:29 One of the few places you'll see the RI flag at a D1 game. Circle of stars, anchor, "HOPE." Complete ripoff of the Modest Mouse album cover.
19:31 16-14 at 8:04 1H. Any school this size would trade for Bryant's student section. Always chanting, cheering, yelling encouragement.
19:33 But what a lot of folks don't know is that there is indeed a considerable amount of Middle Of Nowhere in tiny Rhode Island. Smithfield=that.
19:37 Alex Francis with Bryant's second #ongdunxfail of the evening. Tried to flush it, but it came back like Ghoulies. 23-18 Bulldogs at 6:10 1H.
19:38 Of course, the ultimate #omgdunx fail is spelling #omgdunx wrong on Twitter. Francis makes up for it by getting a +1 layup; 25-18 Bryant.
19:39 Then Cecil Gresham atones for his own #omgdunxfail with a #superhoop. 4:39 left in 1H; 28-23 Bryant.
19:42 With no band or mascot tonight, the cheerleaders are really overworked at MTO's. We really wanted to win the NEC T-Shirt Toss, but didn't.
19:42 RT @bubbaprog: Rowdy Rams out in force: http://30fram.es/132 Score: 43-29 VCU 3:40 1H in the G!O!T!N! @midmajority
19:45 31-27 Bryant at 3:02 1H. Wagner still struggling from the floor (35%), but staying in it with rebounding.
19:47 Wagner's Folahan with a twitchy, freaky #omgdunx that cracked his spine like a whip. I wish we were on #pixelvision so you could see it.
19:48 There's not even a video board! RT @AndrewTutino @midmajority What, there's no stupid "Kiss-me Cam" to fill time? More bands, less fan cams!
19:50 Then again, if we had #pixelvision tonight, you'd see this 8-yr-old kid with a buzzcut crazy-dancing and rubbing himself to "Space Jam."
19:52 It's halftime! Wagner and Bryant tied at 36. Paper airplane contest! Can you hit the tablecloth in the middle of the court?
19:55 Bryant students 2-for-~100 hitting the tablecloth. Not an engineering school.
19:56 We are on alert. RT @RedZoneIUPUI: @midmajority Centenary up 5 at IPFW at the half!
19:57 Haven't, actually. Will during WCC a/k/a post-Jimmer era. RT @JaredtheCougrFn: @midmajority will you still cover BYU after this season?
19:58 RT @HarrySmalleyIII: Sounds like a kid after my own heart. RT @midmajority: kid with a buzzcut crazy-dancing and rubbing himself to "Space Jam."
20:04 Centenary lost to IPFW 83-51 in Dec meeting down in Shreveport, so a HT lead on the road is... surprising? Tweet us 2H updates, Badlanders!
20:07 Kooooger. RT @suss2hyphens: @midmajority I loved Tim O'Shea when he played Mr. Kruger on Seinfeld.
20:09 Any school with black/yellow as school colors is, of course, wearing out Wiz Khalifa on their PA systems this season. Bryant: no exception.
20:10 We are back for a second half of action here in Smithfield. Bryant edges out to a 38-36 lead on Wagner.
20:13 Elsewise, four minutes into 2H at Fort Wayne: Centenary 41, IPFW 35.
20:14 RT @jprebil: @midmajority My childhood best friend went to Bryant. He would go to games with a pony keg rigged like a back-pack. That's passion.
20:15 #SANDSTORM
20:16 Sandstorm is the perfect soundtrack for halfcourt-heave MTO contests. And hobbit orgies.
20:17 Here in Lil Rhody, Cecil Gresham just threw down a rim-rocking #omgdunx that got the crowd on their feet! 47-44 Wagner at 14:27 2H.
20:20 RT @statmyles: If you are watching Miami Knicks instead of Centenary v IPFW, you hate basketball, sports handicapping and you drown puppies
20:20 11 minutes left in regulation at Fort Wayne: Centenary 45, IPFW 41.
20:22 Wagner has unleashed the #superhoopstorm. Up 56-47 on Bryant with 12 to go, Danny Mundweiler with two this half.
20:25 Rumor is that gomastodons.com has #fakepixelvision, for money. RT @MikeMillerNBC: #pixelvision? RT @midmajority 11:00 Centenary 45, IPFW 41.
20:27 End of the third quarter here in Smithfield. In keeping with tradition, teams lobbing #superhoops at each other. 58-51 Wagner.
20:30 7:30 2H: IPFW has caught Centenary, Mastodons now lead 55-51.
20:34 Bryant PA music director not afraid to drop "Space Jam" twice in a game. You've got to respect that.
20:34 And the shot clock just started freaking out again. Delay.
20:36 With less than five to go in Fort Wayne, IPFW has taken a nine-point lead over Centenary, utilizing a 9-2 run.
20:40 The ladder is out, the maintenance folks are on the shot clock problem. I think. 7:22 2H, Wagner up four.
20:41 Out comes the mini-shot clock. The rest of this game might be played with a blinking thing over one basket, though.
20:43 "Ladies and gentlemen, the shot clocks are inoperable. The 35-second clock will be kept at the scorer's table."
20:43 RT @IPFWAthletics: 3:44 2nd Half: IPFW 63, Centenary 57...IPFW out-scoring Centenary 31-20 in second half...Gaines 19 points, Bots 13 points, McCorkle 8 points
20:45 Total electronic Robocalypse here at Bryant. Now the game clock is broken too.
20:47 Went there in Dec. The popcorn is great! RT @Coogles: @midmajority Empty Memorial Coliseum has to be depressing for IPFW basketball games.
20:48 People are running around with wires and boxes and nobody knows what's going on. This is what 2012 will be like.
20:49 This is our second shot clock failure of the year. We got FIFTEEN warnings at Loyola earlier, but here they're calling every five seconds.
20:50 5:50 2H, tied at 60. The clock Robot is working again, so at least they can play basketball.
20:51 RT @WXBQMarcus: @midmajority Y-1/27/2k-11
20:52 RT @polarscribe: @midmajority What would basketball be like without a clock, I wonder? Play continues until everyone fouls out. Or the basketball deflates.
20:55 Anyone read that melodramatic short story by WP Kinsella about the baseball game that never ends? It's hilarious. #thrillofthegrass
20:55 Ghosts and goblins and dogs end up playing. Here in a game that will end, Wagner is up 65-62 with three to go.
21:01 So it goes. RT @midmajority360: Centenary 66 IPFW 76 | CENT 0-22 (0-10) IPFW 13-7 (7-3) | http://tmm7.me/9kh #Badlands
21:02 With a minute left to play, Wagner is up 65-64. Speaking of Robo-weirdness, the Stat Crew monitor hasn't updated since haltfime.
21:05 12 seconds left. A giant Cecil Gresham #superhoop ties it at 67! Standing ovation!
21:08 Empty possession for Wagner, and we're going to overtime! This calls for a #SANDSTORM!
21:11 RT @NECsports: Heating Up...QU's James Johnson scores 38 in 69-61 win over RMU & LIU's Julian Boyd tallies 34 pts and 16 boards in 97-89 win over FDU.
21:14 Wagner pulling away in OT, 74-69 with 2 left. #omgdunxfail No. 3: Bryant's Gresham spikes it into the corner of the rim and sticks it there.
21:17 But Bryant's hanging in there. 1:10 left in OT, and Wagner is up 75-73. Time out. A third play of "Space Jam?" Why the f___ not.
21:19 More. More of this. #stormeverygame RT @Mike0376: @midmajority Liberty stormed the court after beating Ashville in OT.
21:19 RT @SethHunt105: Every seat in the student section has a flyer: "Real Pilots don't sit." nice gesture even if they shouldn't have to be told. @midmajority
21:19 RT @JeffACherry: @midmajority. Vcu rolls over hofstra for sole 1st place. Go rams
21:21 76-73 Wagner. Bryant's attempt to tie with a #superhoop at OT 0:20 falls short. Grabby-hands, foul shots, #peopleareleaving.
21:21 G!O!T!N! RT @midmajority360: Hofstra 67 Virginia Commonwealth 82 | HOFS 14-7 (8-2) VCU 17-5 (9-1) | http://tmm7.me/9km #CAA
21:21 RT @WashPost68: CAA publicly reprimands Towson for "failure to adequately plan and adjust travel plans due to inclement weather." #Towson #Mason #CAA
21:23 78-75 Wagner, 8 seconds left in OT. Wagner shooting free throws... and makes two. That's it from here. Final score: 80-75.
21:24 RT @midmajority360: Oral Roberts 85 Oakland 88 | ORU 9-13 (6-4) OAK 15-8 (10-0) | http://tmm7.me/9ku #Badlands
21:25 We are at Harvard tomorrow for some Ivy League action, so we have to go read up. Stay warm, and GNHN.

Boxscore

WAGNER 80, at BRYANT 75
01/27/2011

WAGNER 10-10 (6-3) -- C. Martin 3-10 3-4 11; L. Rivers 4-10 5-6 16; T. Murray 3-7 3-4 11; O. Parker 5-10 2-2 12; N. Folahan 3-3 2-2 8; D. Mundweiler 3-5 2-2 11; J. Thompson 4-7 1-2 9; C. Spiller 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 26-53 18-22 80.
BRYANT 6-15 (4-5) -- C. Gresham 5-13 5-5 18; F. Dobbs 4-10 4-4 12; C. Maynard 4-7 0-2 10; A. Francis 4-10 8-12 16; R. Jordan 4-11 0-0 10; B. Latham 2-2 0-0 5; V. Kondratyev 0-1 0-0 0; M. Lee 2-4 0-0 4; P. Lo 0-0 0-0 0; J. Harris 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-58 17-23 75.

Three-point goals: WAG 10-21 (C. Martin 2-7; T. Murray 2-4; D. Mundweiler 3-5; L. Rivers 3-5), BRY 8-25 (F. Dobbs 0-3; B. Latham 1-1; C. Gresham 3-10; R. Jordan 2-5; A. Francis 0-1; M. Lee 0-2; C. Maynard 2-3); Rebounds: WAG 37 (O. Parker 9), BRY 24 (A. Francis 8); Assists: WAG 19 (C. Martin 7), BRY 16 (F. Dobbs 4); Total Fouls -- WAG 17, BRY 23; Fouled Out: WAG-None; BRY-None.