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Mount St. Mary’s vs. Bryant: 2021 NEC Championship game preview, TV schedule

By Benjamin Zacher

WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 06: Damian Chong Qui #15 of the Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers celebrates a shot during a basketball game against the Georgetown Hoyas at Capital One Arena on November 6, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 06: Damian Chong Qui #15 of the Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers celebrates a shot during a basketball game against the Georgetown Hoyas at Capital One Arena on November 6, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) /
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The Northeast Conference automatic’s bid will be handed out on Tuesday between Mount St. Mary’s and Bryant.

TV schedule: Tuesday, March 9, 7:00 pm ET. ESPN2

Arena: Chace Athletic Center in Smithfield, Rhode Island

With an automatic qualifier on the line, the fourth-seeded Mount St. Mary’s Mountaineers and second-seeded Bryant Bulldogs will clash in the NEC Championship game on Tuesday evening.

Both are coming off wins that came in drastically different fashions in the NEC semifinals on Saturday.  The Bulldogs – vastly shorthanded – dismantled third-seeded Sacred Heart at home, 85-55, while the Mountaineers upset top-seeded Wagner on the road, 66-60.

Bryant’s victory came after the Bulldogs (15-5) were given the green light to play just days removed from going on a COVID-19 pause – and, as such, the Bulldogs were able to dress just seven players against the Pioneers.  That did little to hold back Bryant, however, considering the entire starting five reached double-digits – with Peter Kiss spearheading the offense with 19 points and six assists.

The Bulldogs’ defense was stellar, limiting Sacred Heart to just 0.93 points per possession and a two-point shooting clip of 31.2% – but it was their offense that was the star.  Behind a blistering mark of 1.44 points per possession, Bryant shot a season-best 73.7% inside the perimeter, hauled down 11 offensive boards – translating to an offensive carom on 52.4% of their missed attempts – and outscored the Pioneers in points in the paint, 52-16.

The Mountaineers (11-10), meanwhile, played a stellar defensive game against Wagner, holding the Seahawks to 0.92 points per possession and 36.4% shooting inside, and limiting the offensive tandem of Alex Morales and Elijah Ford to just 9-28 from the floor.  On the other end, the Mount thrived inside on a 55.9% clip – but ultimately won the game from the charity stripe, going 19-27 to Wagner’s 10-16.

The Mount saw four players reach double-digits, with the guard-post duo of Damian Chong Qui and Nana Opoku pouring in 14 apiece.  The win avenged two losses to the Seahawks earlier on in mid-February, and it also snapped a five-game losing streak to Wagner.  Now, the Mountaineers will clash with the Bulldogs for the first time this season, after their prior two matchups on March 2nd and 3rd were canceled due to Bryant’s pause.

Already, much has changed ahead of this game from Saturday’s events – mostly by way of Bryant.  Again, the Bulldogs were incredibly shorthanded against Sacred Heart, with their second and third-leading scorers in Michael Green III (16.7 ppg) and Chris Childs (14.1 ppg) out.  But now, according to Bryant head coach Jared Grasso, his crew will be back at full strength:

That does not necessarily bode well for the Mountaineers, but this game’s tempo should, ultimately, give the Mount a shot against the fully-healthy Bulldogs.  There is not a slower team in the NEC than Mount St. Mary’s, which allow just 63.3 possessions per game – and their methodical style of play must come through against Bryant, considering the Bulldogs are the fastest team in the conference with 75.5 possessions per game.

Where the Mount will run into issues, potentially, is finding the offense to overcome Bryant.  The Mountaineers rank in the top two in the NEC in 3P% and 2P% defense, as well as top three in shooting the three-ball – but they are dead last in 2P%.  By contrast, the Bulldogs are sixth in both 2P% offense and defense – but first in 3P% offense and defense.  Shutting down Bryant’s long-range game is crucial, but the Bulldogs are coming off a game where they shot over 70% from inside the perimeter.

The battle stretches to the individual level, as well – with the Mount’s Chong Qui and Opoku lining up against Bryant’s Green III and Kiss.  That, arguably, might be the NEC’s best defensive duo taking on the best offensive pair.  Opoku was just named NEC Defensive Player of the Year, while Chong Qui, Green III, and Kiss were all All-Conference selections.

This game should, almost assuredly, be much closer than Bryant’s 30-point win over Sacred Heart just days ago.  Last year’s meetings between these two squads – which yielded two wins for the Mount that were decided by three or fewer points – should be a glaring indication of that.

Next. 2021 NEC Tournament preview and predictions. dark

History will either be made or repeated in this championship.  This is Bryant’s first-ever trip to the NEC Championship game, while Mount St. Mary’s has been in this situation before, winning the 2014 conference title as the fourth-seed.  This is one that could come down to the wire – but the Bulldogs may just have enough offense to overcome the Mount’s stifling defense.

Prediction: Bryant 67 – Mount St. Mary’s 63