Down by two and the clock quickly approaching zero, Brown senior guard Kino Lilly Jr. separated himself from his defender, took a pass from senior guard/forward Aaron Cooley and launched a potential game-winning three from the left elbow.
The ball hit the rim, bounced off the backboard and fell through the netting with 2.2 seconds to give the Bears the 76-75 road victory over Bryant on Friday evening.
Bruno, winners of five straight and six of their last seven, are now 6-3 on the season.
Typical of games between these two intrastate rivals, the game was fast and physical from the opening whistle.
The teams went back and forth with 12 lead changes and three ties through the opening 20 minutes, with neither team ahead by more than six points.
With the Bulldogs up six and Brown holding for one last shot before halftime, Lilly went from the right side of the three-point line into the lane and sank a midrange baby hook with his left hand to make it 40-36.
Bryant had success from the field, hitting 67% (12-for-18) from two and 43% (3-for-7) from three, but struggled from the free throw line. The hosts bullied their way to 13 free throws but could only manage to make seven (54%).
Brown wasn’t as successful from the field, making 52% of its inside shots (12-for-23) and 20% (2-for-10) from outside the arc. But the Bears did manage to convert 86% (6-for-7) from the charity stripe.
Junior forward Landon Lewis led all scorers at the halfway points with 12 points on 5-for-6 shooting, while Cooley totaled 11. Lilly, who entered the night averaging 19.5 points per game, had five points on 2-for-7 shooting.
The second half was almost a replay of the first, with the teams battling back and forth.
After 11 more lead changes and six additional ties, the Bulldogs held that same four-point advantage, 74-70, with less than two minutes to go in regulation.
Lilly started Bruno’s last comeback with a step-back jumper over the outstretched arms of 6-foot-11 sophomore forward Keyshawn Mitchell to make it a two-point game.
Following a missed Bryant jumper, Brown worked the shot clock down to three seconds when Lilly drove to the hoop from the left side of the lane. The All-Ivy guard went up for a game-tying layup, but his shot was blocked by sixth year forward Connor Withers.
It only took a few moments for Lilly got some payback on the big man.
Fifth-year guard Earl Timberlake had trouble finding an open Bulldog on the inbounds and forced it into Withers, who was draped by the first team All-Ivy guard and dropped the ball on the wrong side of the baseline.
On the next possession, Lilly found Lewis on the right baseline and the Brown big was fouled by Withers as he took a fadeaway jumper.
Lewis missed the first free throw but hit the second to make it 74-73 with 18 seconds on the game clock.
Brown had trouble chasing down a Bryant player to foul but finally managed to grab Mitchell with 11 seconds remaining in the half.
The Bulldog big, who missed his first two free throws of the night, hit his first shot to make it a two-point game.
The second was off the mark and the uncontested rebound was grabbed by senior guard Lyndel Erold, opening the door for Lilly’s game-winning heroics.
In the decisive final 20 minutes, it was the slimmest of margins in shooting between the two teams, with Bruno having two more three-pointers, one more two-pointer and one more free throw, that gave the Bears the hard-fought victory.
Lilly was the game’s high scorer, finishing with 23 points, including 18 points on 5-for-7 from the field and 5-for-6 from the charity stripe, and was named the game’s MVP by KenPom.com.
Lewis, meanwhile, had a career-high 21 points on 9-for-12 from the field and 3-for-4 from the free throw line, and Cooley had 15 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
The Bears lost their first two games of the year and have dealt with multiple injuries, including a preseason shoulder injury to senior forward Nana Owusu-Anane and a recent ankle sprain to junior guard Alexander Lesburt Jr. But they are getting better as the season progresses and finished the week with road wins against Bryant and Vermont.
“We have a long way to go,” coach Mike Martin told Brown Athletics following the game. “But you don’t win in the two gyms we just won in if you’re not a good team. I’m really pleased.”
Bruno has a few days off before returning to the Pizzitola Sports Center to host undefeated Rhode Island (9-0) on Tuesday evening.