MBB Game Notes
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For Immediate Release: February 27, 2019 BROWN (17-9, 5-5 Ivy) vs. COLUMBIA (7-17, 2-8 Ivy) - Friday, March 1, 2019; 5:00 pm (ESPNU) and vs. CORNELL (13-13, 5-5 Ivy) - Saturday, March 2, 2019; 6:00 pm (ESPN+) Pizzitola Sports Center; Providence, R.I. TV: ESPNU (Jon Meterparel and Noah Savage); ESPN+ (Nick Coit and Adam Giardino) RADIO: WPRV-AM 790 (Scott Cordischi and Russ Tyler ’71) Brown’s Probable Starters: Forward 25 Tamenang Choh, sophomore (12.8 ppg, 8.9 rpg) Forward 44 Matt DeWolf, sophomore, (3.0 ppg, 3.1 rpg) Guard 4 Obi Okolie, senior (11.7 ppg, 4.0 rpg) Guard 20 Zach Hunsaker, junior (5.7 ppg, 2.2 rpg) Guard 24 Desmond Cambridge, sophomore (16.1 ppg, 3.6 rpg) Key Reserves: 2 Brandon Anderson, junior, guard (9.0 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 2.5 apg) 5 Joshua Howard, junior, forward (7.8 ppg, 4.2 rpg) 3 George Mawanda-Kalema, sophomore, guard (5.5 ppg, 1.9 rpg) 11 Chris Sullivan, senior, guard (2.7 ppg, 1.5 rpg) 0 David Mitchell, freshman, guard (2.6 ppg, 2.5 rpg) Senior Day on Saturday: Brown will honor its three seniors prior to Saturday’s game against Cornell, recognizing Travis Fuller, Obi Okolie and Chris Sullivan. The Bears: Brown earned its first Ivy weekend sweep since 2014, defeating Harvard, 88-79, and Dartmouth, 68-65, last week. The win over the Crimson, fueled by 30 points by Desmond Cambridge, was Brown’s first over Harvard since 2009. Brandon Anderson came off the bench to score a season high 21 points in the Bears’ win over the Big Green. The 17 overall wins for the Bears rank second in Brown history, tied with the Bears’ teams in 2001-02 and 2002-03, and behind the school record 19 wins by Brown’s 2007-08 team. Brown, who is tied with Cornell for fourth place in the Ivy standings, leads the Ivy League in 3-point FG defense (.304), and ranks second in the Ivy League in scoring defense (69.0 ppg) and field goal defense (.418). About the Lions and Big Red: Columbia (7-17, 2-8 Ivy) split games last week, defeating Penn, 79-77, in overtime and falling to Princeton, 79-61. Lions sophomore Gabe Stefanini is the Ivy League’s sixth leading scorer (14.0 ppg). Cornell (13-13, 5-5 Ivy) was swept last week, losing to Princeton, 68-59, and Penn, 68-50. Big Red senior Matt Morgan is the Ivy League’s leading scorer with 23.0 ppg. The Brown vs. Columbia Series Record: Brown and Columbia have met 142 times, dating back to 1900-1901, with the Lions holding a 75-67 series advantage. Brown captured a 65-63 win over the Lions earlier this year in New York City behind 22 points from Obi Okolie. The teams split games last year with Columbia capturing the second meeting in New York City, 89-82, on 2/23/18. The Brown vs. Cornell Series Record: Brown and Cornell will be meeting for the 132nd time, dating back to 1949-1950, with the Big Red holding a 79-52 series advantage. Cornell has earned four straight wins over the Bears, including 70-66 overtime win earlier this year in Ithaca, NY. Brown’s last victory over the Big Red came on 2/3/17, an 81-70 decision in Ithaca. Obi Okolie – Registers Career Scoring High: Bears’ senior guard Obi Okolie (Ajax, Ontario), who has scored in double figures in each of Brown’s last 12 games, is recognized as one of the top defensive stoppers in the Ivy League and is averaging 11.7 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. Okolie scored 16 points against Harvard and 14 points vs. Dartmouth, but more importantly, shut down the top two three-point shooters in the Ivy League, holding Harvard’s Bryce Aiken and Dartmouth’s Brendan Barry to a combined 2-of-13 in three-point shooting and 9-of-26 shooting from the field. He scored 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds against Cornell in Ithaca, and came back with 16 points and five rebounds vs. Columbia in New York City. Okolie exploded for a career high 25 points vs. Penn, hitting 9-of-11 field goals, and then came back with 18 points in Brown’s win over Princeton. He scored a game high 15 points in Brown’s win over Dartmouth and played a pivotal defensive role, and came back with 12 points and eight rebounds vs. Harvard. Okolie netted 14 points in Brown’s Ivy opener vs. Yale and added 10 points in the rematch with the Bulldogs. He scored 12 points, handed out three assists and grabbed four rebounds vs. Johnson & Wales and had 15 points and grabbed four rebounds in Brown’s win over Canisius. He scored 13 points with 3-of-4 shooting from beyond the three-point arc, grabbed four rebounds and handed out five assists in Brown’s win over San Diego State. Okolie tossed in 10 points on perfect 4-of-4 shooting against Marist after scoring 14 points and grabbing five rebounds in Brown’s win over Stony Brook. He found his stroke vs. Butler with 11 points, knocking down a career high three treys on 3-of-4 shooting from beyond the 3-point arc. Okolie had seven rebounds vs. UMass Lowell and scored in double figures vs. Sacred Heart (11 points) and Army (10 points). He had six rebounds vs. Rhode Island and his four assists vs. Bryant led the Bears. Okolie opened the season with 17 points and six rebounds vs. LIU-Brooklyn. Okolie has been a mainstay in the lineup since his freshman season, averaging 9.3 points per game. Last year, Okolie grabbed 4.0 rebounds per game and scored in double figures nine times, scoring a season high 17 points, while grabbing nine rebounds, against Princeton on the final weekend of the season. Obi Okolie’s Career Points: 976 Fuller Up: Senior forward Travis Fuller (Encinitas, CA) registered a season high nine points vs. Johnson & Wales, while pulling down three rebounds. He scored four points against Army in the Brown Tip-Off Classic. Last year, Fuller earned three starts and posted a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds against LIU Brooklyn. He finished the season with an average of 3.2 rebounds per game. Sullivan Takes Leadership Role: Senior guard and two-year team captain Chris Sullivan (Wilmette, IL) is effective coming off the bench to provide a defensive presence for the Bears. Sullivan may have been the difference in Brown’s win over Dartmouth with a career high 13 points, connecting on 5-of-6 field goals, including 3-of-3 from beyond the three-point arc. He tossed in seven points in Brown’s second game vs. Yale, and had four points at home vs. Princeton. Sullivan had three points and three rebounds vs. Stony Brook and netted three points and two rebounds vs. Maine. He knocked down a trey and had two assists vs. Navy, scored four points vs. NJIT and registered 11 points vs. UMass Lowell. Last year, he helped the Bears topple UMass Lowell with 11 points, connecting on 3-of-3 treys. He is the third Sullivan brother to play for Brown, following in the footsteps of brothers Peter ‘11 and Matt ‘13. Joshua Howard Inside: Junior forward Joshua Howard (Charlotte, NC) leads the Bears in shooting percentage (.542), but has missed Brown’s last four games due to injury. Howard scored 10 points and pulled down a team high five rebounds in Brown’s win over Maine. He tossed in 11 points vs. San Diego State on 4-of-5 shooting from the field, while grabbing five rebounds. Howard scored 11 of his 13 points in the second half on 5-of-6 shooting from the field to help Brown beat Marist. He scored nine points vs. Butler on 4-of-6 shooting from the field. Howard had 13 points vs. Navy on 5- of-9 shooting, while pulling down five rebounds and blocking a career high three shots. He tossed in 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds vs. Bryant and added eight points and five rebounds vs. Rhode Island. Howard had 11 points and three rebounds in Brown’s season opener vs. LIU-Brooklyn and came back by matching his career rebounding high with 11 rebounds vs. NJIT. He netted 11 points vs. Salve Regina on 3-of-3 shooting from the field, while grabbing four rebounds. Howard scored 10 points vs. Sacred Heart and just missed a double-double vs. Army with eight points and 10 rebounds. He earned 16 starts for the Bears a year ago and averaged 5.9 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. His dad, Juwan Howard, was a member of Michigan’s Fab Five and a 22-year NBA player. Hunsaker In The Backcourt: Junior guard and two-year captain Zach Hunsaker (North Salt Lake City, UT) has started Brown’s last 14 games and is averaging 6.2 ppg overall. Hunsaker netted nine points vs. Penn and came back with 10 points in a win over Princeton, connecting on 3-of-5 field goals. He tossed in 13 points vs. Yale on 5-of-7 shooting from the field, connecting on 3-of-4 treys. Hunsaker scored nine points and handed out five assists in a win over Canisius. He had four rebounds and three assists vs. San Diego State and scored 10 points, grabbed five rebounds and handed out three assists vs.