Purple Knights Rally From Down 15 At The Half To Grab 80-74 Men's Basketball Win At Dominican (N.Y.)

Orangeburg, N.Y.-The University of Bridgeport men's basketball team opened the 2015 portion of its season schedule in fine style, as the Purple Knights rallied from a 15-point halftime deficit to notch an 80-74 non-conference, road victory over the host Dominican (N.Y.) College Chargers on Sunday afternoon.  The win is UB's sixth in a row, as Bridgeport raises its overall record to 8-3 on the season.  The loss drops Dominican's overall record to 5-8.

Early on Sunday, the Purple Knights held a 24-22 lead with 7:21 remaining in the first half only to see the host Chargers close out the first 20 minutes of play on a 23-6 run to take a 45-30 lead into the lockeroom at halftime.

UB would come out in the second half red-hot cutting the DC advantage to only five points, 49-44, with 16:55 to play in the game.  The Purple Knights would take their first lead of the second stanza with 6:57 to play, when junior Ernest Rouse (Freeport, N.Y.) connected on a three-pointer to give his team a 63-61 edge.  Rouse finished the day netting 13 points for the winners.

With Bridgeport holding a 66-64 lead with 5:48 to play, Dominican would then go on a 6-0 run to grab a 70-66 advantage.  The Purple Knights responded by closing out the contest on a 14-6 run to claim the 80-74 win.

UB took the lead for good at 73-72 with just 51 seconds to play when senior Willie Williams III (Norwalk, Conn.) scored a put-back hoop.  Williams had a monster double-double for the victorious Purple Knights scoring 18 points and grabbing a game-high 17 rebounds, nine of which came on the offensive glass. 

After Williams' basket, Bridgeport was clutch at the foul line down the stretch hitting seven-of-eight free throws to seal the win.

Junior Devon Elliott (Brooklyn, N.Y.) led Bridgeport in scoring on Sunday with 20 points, and junior Jesse Jones (Irvington, N.J.) rounded out the four UB players in double-digit scoring on the day with 10 points off the bench.  UB junior Eddie Asamoah (Calgary, Canada) fell just shy of double-figures scoring with nine points, and he also grabbed six rebounds.

Dominican's Nick Smith led all scorers on the afternoon with 26 points.

Up next for the UB men's basketball team is an important weekend venture to Western New York, as the Purple Knights will return to East Conference play taking on Roberts Wesleyan on Friday night and Daemen on Saturday afternoon.