The Bryant Bulldogs have a little school but a lot of potential, and came into this season as one of the favorites in the Northeast Conference. They wound up as the #3 seed in the NEC tournament, looking to make a run and get the small Rhode Island based college to the NCAA tournament.

Bryant had to spurn off Sacred Heart's Cane Broome, who had 23 points, to barely make it by the Pioneers, 91-85 in a double-overtime thriller. Powerful guard Joe O'Shea led the Bulldogs with 23 points, and saved their season by hitting a nutty 3-pointer while falling over as time was expiring in regulation to send it to overtime.

Cane Broome had been on fire in the first half for SHU, hitting many three's to give the Pioneers a double-digit lead. Bryant leading scorer Dyami Starks had a poor shooting night, but kept on firing, and the ones he did hit were critical, as he wound up going 8-25 for 22 points. Shane McLaughlin scored some timely layups, and the crowd of over 1,100 was rocking the Chace Athletic Center.

The first overtime was a back-and-forth affair, with Sacred Heart's balanced corp still keeping up with the Bulldogs. With 15 seconds left in the 1st bonus session, Evan Kelley got the and-1 layup, the old fashioned 3-point-play, and tied the game up at 77 a piece to send it to more bonus basketball.

Kelley opened up the 2nd OT with a jumper to give the Pioneers the lead, but Bosko Kostur followed that up with a deep 3 on the other end. In the final 3 minutes of the game, Bryant went on a 7-2 run spearheaded by Joe O'Shea and Curtis Oakley, and wound up winning the game to keep their tourney hopes alive.

It was a very brutal game, as Sacred Heart committed 27 fouls, along with Bryant's 19. Dyami Starks gets most of the hype for Bryant, but Joe O'Shea certainly stole the show tonight. They will need more heroics when they head to Robert Morris to take on the #2 seed on Saturday.

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About the author
Ben Anderson
Hi, folks. I am Ben, a West Virginian, loud and proud. I've been the editor in chief of VAVEL USA since December of 2013, and continue to work hard and make the International Sports Newspaper the best on the internet.