Hunt nets 20 to lead Ravens to
win; Robinson totals 23 for 'Hounds
RINDGE, N.H. (January 20,
2003) - Franklin Pierce shook off a pair of road losses
last week and claimed a 70-67 upset victory over Assumption College
in Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball action at the Franklin
Pierce Fieldhouse tonight.
Junior Jimmie Hunt (Utica, N.Y./Mount Ararat
(Maine)) hit seven-of-12 shots from the field (2-4
from three-point range) and canned 4-5 at the free-throw line for
20 points to go along with seven rebounds and two assists to lead
Franklin Pierce.
Classmate Derek Rodgerson (Newburgh, Maine/Hampden
Academy) added 15 points, five steals and two
assists, while freshman Justin Powell (Brookline,
Mass./Brookline) chipped in 14 points, six boards
(four offensive) and two blocks for the Ravens.
Sophomore forward Brian Robinson was a dominant force inside for
Assumption, scoring a game-high 23 points on 8-16 shooting from the
field and draining 7-11 attempts at the line to go with seven
rebounds, six steals and three blocks.
Junior Roy Goffer was the only other Greyhound in double figures
as he totaled 13 points. Junior Elijah Bland chipped in eight
points.
Franklin Pierce trailed by nine points (28-19) with 5:49
remaining in the opening half, but a 9-2 run over the next three
and a half minutes trimmed the deficit to two points (30-28) with
2:18 remaining in the stanza. Rodgerson sparked the run with seven
points, including a three-pointer to cap the rally.
Assumption held on for a three-point halftime lead (33-30) and
extended it to five with a Kevin Harrington lay-up on its first
possession.
The Ravens were able to force the first of three ties in the
second half when a Powell lay-in at the 12:15 mark knotted the
score at 45-45. The Greyhounds regained a five-point cushion
(50-45) after Blanc drained a three-ball at the 11:26-mark.
Franklin Pierce then posted a 17-4 run over the next five
minutes to break open an eight-point lead (62-54) with 6:56 to
play. Senior Allister Gall (Plymouth,
England) sparked the rally with back-to-back
three-pointers after a Hunt three and Rodgerson capped the run with
a three.
Assumption used a 10-2 run to force a 66-66 deadlock with 3:39
left in regulation with Robinson netting five points.
Rodgerson was then fouled attempting a three-pointer at the top
of the key with 2:36 to play and calmly drained all three
free-throws to give the Ravens a three-point cushion.
After Harrington split two free-throw attempts with 2:05 on the
clock, Assumption missed its next six field goal attempts and two
free-throws before the Ravens were able to gain a three-point
advantage after a split at the line by senior Josh
Steinberger (Walden, N.Y./Valley Central) with 14
ticks left in regulation.
Assumption had one last shot to tie the game, but Harrington was
off the mark with a three-pointer with seven seconds on the clock.
Both teams shot fairly well on the night, with Franklin Pierce
hitting 45.1-percent (23-51) from the field, including 7-16 (43.8%)
from three-point range, while Assumption shot 44.8% (26-58) from
the floor. The Ravens won the game at the free-throw line, hitting
89.5% (17-19) of their attempts, compared to 61.5% (8-13) for the
Greyhounds in a match-up of the top two free-throw shooting teams
in the Northeast-10.
Franklin Pierce (7-10, 5-7 NE-10) embarks upon a four-game road
trip over the next two weeks beginning with a game at American
International College on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. UMass Lowell
(12-4, 8-4 NE-10) travels to No. 2-ranked UMass Lowell on Thursday
at 7:30 p.m.
BOX
SCORE
