SMITHFIELD — This opening chapter of men’s college basketball rivalry weekend in the state delivered in style, and it was Brown who penned the last word on Friday night.
Kino Lilly Jr. was always going to be the man in the clutch for the Bears, and his 3-pointer with 2.2 seconds left made the difference.
The shot hit the rim twice, kissed off the glass and fell through to mark a 24th lead change at Chace Athletic Center. Barry Evans rimmed out his own desperation jumper at the horn and Brown edged Bryant, 76-75, in a classic.
The Bears inbounded from the left side with 8.1 seconds left, and their senior leader was the choice to take the shot in a 75-73 game. Lilly dashed right to left along the baseline and came free after a crunching screen by Landon Lewis. The Bulldogs arrived just an instant too late with some help defense, and Lilly closed his 23-point evening with a highlight.
“That’s what we work for,” Lilly said. “That’s why I stay in the gym — so I can have those moments. That’s what I have to do to win.”
Bryant called a timeout and inbounded from under its own basket 94 feet away from a tie. Jakai Robinson threw a full-court pass that found Evans in the left corner, and his turnaround hit the front rim before bouncing away. It was the fifth straight time the road team has claimed victory in this series and the sixth time a game has been decided by three points or less since the Bulldogs and Brown renewed acquaintances in 2008-09.
“When adversity came, we hung together,” Brown coach Mike Martin said. “That’s what you’re going to need if you’re going to win in our league.”
Neither team built more than a six-point lead, and both were forced to battle through nine ties. That made the smallest mistakes hurt even more — Bryant finished 12-for-20 at the foul line, including a miss by Keyshawn Mitchell on the back half of a 1-and-1 with 10.8 seconds left. The Bears quickly advanced the ball across midcourt and Jeremiah Jenkins called a timeout to set up the last play.
“It was going to take discipline, focus and energy on every single play,” Bryant coach Phil Martelli Jr. said. “They found a way to make one more play than we did.”
The Bulldogs shrugged off a field-goal drought of 3:24 to create what felt like some daylight late in the second half. Connor Withers knocked down a pair of free throws and Earl Timberlake hit for consecutive buckets, the second on a textbook 2-on-1 break with Evans. Bryant held a 74-70 advantage with 2:01 to play but didn’t connect on another shot from the floor.
“It was about what this game has been every year for the most part,” Martelli said. “It’s just been that slugfest back and forth, back and forth.”
Brown’s Aaron Cooley yells after hammering down a dunk in the second half of the Bears’ 76-75 win over Bryant on Friday night.
Brown (6-3) won a fifth straight game overall and a second in a row without guard AJ Lesburt, who’s dealing with an ankle injury. That took a primary 3-point shooter out of the lineup, but the Bears still managed to connect at 49.2% overall and 6-for-15 from deep. Lewis added a career-high 21 points and Aaron Cooley chipped in 15, helping Brown follow its victory at Vermont with another against an expected America East contender.
“I just said to our team we have a long way to go,” Martin said. “But you don’t win in the two gyms that we’ve won in unless you’re a good team.”
Rafael Pinzon was scoreless through the opening 10:30 and still finished with a team-high 22 points for the Bulldogs (5-5), who were playing their first home game since a Nov. 8 overtime loss to Siena. Timberlake added 19 on 7-for-12 shooting and Evans scored the first seven for Bryant on his way to 15. The Bulldogs have a Sunday breather with Vermont State University-Johnson before a trip to St. John’s next week.
“These are the games that you draw back on,” Martelli said. “Remember this situation, remember when we were in this moment. I’m quite sure we’ll be better for it.”
