Bryant’s Peter Lambert, right, dives for the ball as he scrambles with Brown’s Sean Kane during the first half of yesterday’s game in Providence.

The Providence Journal / Ruben W. Perez

PROVIDENCE — It was a non-league game, but bragging rights were at stake yesterday afternoon as Brown (6-8) hosted in-state rival Bryant (2-13) at the Pizzitola Sports Center.

The two teams battled back-and-forth in a nip-and-tuck affair for most of the game.

But Brown heated up from the outside, picked up their intensity on defense, and pulled away late for a 69-56 victory to keep its perfect all-time record (8-0) against the Bulldogs intact.

“It was just important for us to come out and play hard,” Brown coach Jesse Agel said. “It didn’t matter who was on the other side, because that was our last tune-up for league play.”

Matt Mullery (6-for-10 shooting) led the Bears with 16 points and seven rebounds. He is ranked 10th in the nation in field-goal percentage (62 percent).

“He’s really done a great job carrying us,” Agel said. “He got us a lot of easy baskets early. He missed a couple of bunnies, but he’s been our guy and he’s done a great job for us.”

Scott Friske (15 points, 8 rebounds) and Peter Sullivan (15 points, 6 rebounds) also reached double digits, while starters Chris Skrelja (8 points, 11 rebounds) and Adrian Williams (6 points, 4 assists) also played well.

“Scott and Chris do a lot of great things that aren’t picked up in the box score, but they have really stepped up,” Agel said. “Pete is doing what he’s done every day, and Adrian did a great job defensively.”

Nick Pontes (18 points), Cecil Gresham (13 points, 3 assists) and Peter Lambert (11 points) did their best to keep Bryant in the game. The Bulldogs, playing in their first season in Division I, have not won a road game yet this season.

“Those kids at Bryant, they don’t quit,” Agel said. “They are good players. They played hard and they’re well-coached.”

The opening 12 minutes featured six lead changes, but the Bears closed out the first half with a 19-5 run that gave them a 38-25 lead at halftime.

Bryant’s 2-3 zone defense gave the Bears problems early on as they tried to beat the zone by pounding the ball inside to forwards Mullery and Skrelja, but it wasn’t working.

Brown then caught fire from the outside, as Sean Kane (9 points, 5 rebounds) connected on all three of his shots from behind the arc during the momentum-swinging run and Sullivan knocked down two of three 3-pointers.

Brown knocked down 7 of 10 3-point shots in the first half to build its 13-point halftime lead. The Bears shot 61.9 percent from the field in the first half and limited Bryant to 34.5 percent.

The second half was almost a mirror image of the first, with Bryant competing well with Brown early before the Bears pulled away.

Bryant forced seven Brown turnovers in the opening 10 minutes of the second half, which led to several easy transition buckets.

For the game, Bryant scored 18 points on 18 Brown turnovers.

Bryant cut Brown’s lead to 50-47 with 10:10 remaining in the game on a Pontes layup, but Brown went on a 12-3 surge over the next eight minutes.

The Bears’ 62-50 lead was too much for Bryant to overcome in the final two minutes.

“I thought we did a very good job of getting open shots at the basket in the second half — we just needed to put down a few more shots,” Bryant coach Tim O’Shea said.

“I thought our guys showed a great competitive spirit. We gave Brown all they could handle. I was proud of the effort”

Bryant will look for its third win of the season tomorrow, when it hosts Cornell at 7 p.m.

“If we continue to develop our system through recruiting and through adjusting to this higher level, we’re going to win our share of games down the road,” O’Shea said.

“This year, it’s about establishing a Division I identity and competing, and I thought on that level we did a pretty good job of competing today.”

roblee@projo.com