Rodgerson, Hunt key Ravens to
victory
RINDGE, N.H. (November 30,
2003) - Franklin Pierce claimed its third-straight victory
after an with a 69-61 decision over Stonehill College in
Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball action at the Franklin
Pierce Fieldhouse this afternoon.
Senior guards Derek
Rodgerson (Newburgh, Maine/Hampden Academy) and
Jimmie Hunt (Utica, N.Y./Mount Ararat
(Maine)) paced Franklin Pierce on the offensive end.
Rodgerson enjoyed another strong shooting performance as he
finished with a game-high 19 points on five-of-nine shooting from
the field, including 2-2 from three-point range, and 7-7 from the
free-throw line. Hunt added 14 points, four rebounds and four
assists.
Senior forward Kent
Willingham (Queens, N.Y./McNair Academy) chipped in a
career-high ten points for the Ravens. Sophomore Tom
Sadler (Oxford, England/Farmington (N.H.) HS)
finished with seven points and a team-high six
boards.
Senior swingman Ricardo
Scott (Boston, Mass./Cushing Academy) led Stonehill
with 17 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Junior
Dezmond Morgan (Maplewood, N.J./Columbia)
added 12 points and six rebounds (four offensive), while classmate
Evan Pellerin (Toronto, Ontario/Jarvis
C.I.) totaled nine points, a game-high 12 rebounds
(four offensive), three assists and two steals.
Franklin Pierce, which was
out-rebounded 41-25 for the game including 28-11 in the first half,
hit 52.6-percent (10-19) of its shots over the final 20 minutes to
expand on a 30-28 halftime edge. The Ravens also converted 80.6%
(25-31) of their free-throw attempts.
Stonehill managed just 33.9%
(20-59) shooting for the contest, including 37.5% (9-24) in the
second half, and hit just 3-17 (17.6%) from three-point range (0-8
2nd half).
After Stonehill raced out to an 8-0
lead just 1:42 into the game, Franklin Pierce recovered with a 13-4
run over the next six minutes, sparked by a pair of three's from
Rodgerson and one from Sadler, to take its first lead of the game
(13-12) at the 12:31-mark.
With the game tied at 47-47 with
7:02 left in the second half Franklin Pierce scored six-straight
points, sparked by a pair of conventional three-point plays from
freshman Ryan McLellan (Newport,
Maine/Nokomis), to open a 53-47 edge with 6:11 to
play.
Stonehill worked its deficit down
to one (53-52) with 3:44 left, but a three-pointer from Hunt and a
5-6 effort by the Ravens at the line gave them a seven-point edge
(61-54) with 1:20 to go. Franklin Pierce canned 8-10 free-throw
attempts over the final 64-seconds to ice the victory.
Franklin Pierce (3-2, 2-1 NE-10)
returns to action on Wednesday when it hosts Bentley College at
7:30 p.m. Stonehill (3-2, 0-2 NE-10) visits No. 4 UMass Lowell on
Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
BOX
SCORE
