Cardenas, Elisias lead Bryant over Merrimack

SMITHFIELD, R.I. (AP) — Juan Cardenas scored 13 points with 15 rebounds and Bryant used the second half to pull away from Merrimack for a 61-52 win on Tuesday night.

The Bulldogs have won four straight at home. Merrimack led 29-28 at halftime and used an 8-0 run — aided by back-to-back 3-pointers by Mikey Watkins — to start the second half. But Bryant went on a 14-0 run over a 6-1/2 minute stretch for a 46-42 advantage and never trailed again.

Hall Elisias led Bryant (13-14, 5-9 Northeast Conference) with 15 points, seven rebounds and three blocks and Michael Green III added 13 points and six rebounds.

Watkins scored 16 points for the Warriors (18-10, 12-3), Jaleel Lord scored 15 and Juvaris Hayes had 11 points, five assists and five steals.

Bryant plays St. Francis (NY) on the road on Friday. Merrimack matches up against Sacred Heart at home on Friday.

———

For more AP college basketball coverage: https://apnews.com/Collegebasketball and http://twitter.com/AP—Top25

———

Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights, http://www.automatedinsights.com/ap, using data from STATS LLC, https://www.stats.com