Bryant head coach Tim O’Shea watched his team fall in heartbreaking fashion (Getty)
While Providence and Rhode Island receive most of the attention when it comes to college basketball in the Ocean State, with those two rivals scheduled to meet this weekend, there are a total of four Division I college basketball teams in the state with Brown and Bryant being the others. Monday night the Bears hosted the Bulldogs in Providence, and the game culminated with a finish you’re unlikely to see again in college basketball this season.
Brown, which led by six with 2:47 remaining, needed a Tavon Blackmon layup with 3.8 seconds remaining to regain the lead after Bryant’s Nisre Zouzoua hit a three-pointer to cap a 7-0 Bulldog run. Even with Blackmon’s layup the Bulldogs had a chance to go for the win, but freshman guard Ikenna Ndugba had a moment that no athlete would wish on anyone. Seemingly not realizing that his team trailed by one, Ndugba dribbled around the court before tossing the ball into the air as time expired.
Final score: Brown 91, Bryant 90.
Just under two minutes into the second half Bryant trailed by nine, but the play of Zouzoua (31 points) and Adam Grant (20) helped spark the comeback that ultimately fell short. Ndugba finished the game with seven points, six assists, four rebounds and two steals, but unfortunately the only thing many will remember regarding his role in the game is the mistake made at the end.