Hunt, Rodgerson earn All-Conference honors, Minifield named to All-Rookie team

RINDGE, N.H. (March 8, 2004) - Three members of the Franklin Pierce men's basketball team received postseason awards by the Northeast-10 Conference over the weekend.

Senior guard Jimmie Hunt (Utica, N.Y./Mount Ararat (Maine)) was selected to the All-Northeast-10 Conference second team for the second-straight year, while classmate Derek Rodgerson (Newburgh, Maine/Hampden Academy) earned a spot on the All-Conference third team by the NE-10's 15 head coaches. The two All-Conference picks are the most for one season at Franklin Pierce since joining the Northeast-10 in 2000-2001. Freshman point guard Darryl Minifield (Brookline, Mass./Brookline) was named to the All-Rookie team.

Hunt, a two-time All-Northeast-10 honoree, led the Ravens this season with 17.6 points (7^th NE-10), 6.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 33.5 minutes per contest while starting all 28 games. Hunt surpassed his own single-season record at the College as he drained 85.8-percent (127-148) of his free-throw attempts (5^th NE-10). The swingman also hit 43.5% (148-340) of his attempts from the field, including 41.8% (69-165) from three-point range.

Hunt led Franklin Pierce in scoring 16 times this season, including 13 of its final 15 contests, and rebounding 14 times, including the final five games. He totaled a team-best four double-doubles, including 27 points and a career-best 11 rebounds in a win over Teikyo Post University on November 23.

Hunt also earned Northeast-10 Player of the Week honors for the first time in his career this season on January 26 after he averaged 24 points, 6.3 rebounds and three assists in three games for the Ravens the week before. He totaled a season-best 34 points on 11-of-15 shooting from the floor, including 6-8 from three-point range, and canned all six free-throw attempts to go with ten rebounds and five assists in the Ravens 92-78 win over then No. 16 UMass Lowell.

Hunt, who earned second-team All-Conference as well as Daktronics and NABC All-Region status as a junior, was named a preseason All-American by Street & Smith's magazine at the outset of his senior season. He closed out his four-year career ranked ninth in program history with 1,495 career points and 17^th with 479 career rebounds. His .812 (312-384) career free throw percentage surpassed the previous program mark of .797 set by Jason Miglionico from 1990-93. Hunt also holds program records for single-game free throws made (17 vs. Bryant, 2/15/03) and free-throw percentage (17-17 vs. Bryant, 2/15/03).

Rodgerson earns the first postseason award of his career at the College with his selection to the All-NE-10 third team. He averaged 14.8 points (15^th NE-10), 3.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.5 steals in 36.6 minutes per game while starting all 28 contests. Rodgerson just fell below the statistical minimum of free throws made per game (2.0/gm) for what would have been a Conference best and program-record 89.7-percent (52-58) effort from the free throw line this season. He also led the team with a 43% (64-149) three-point shooting percentage (9^th NE-10) and also hit 43.2% (149-345) of his shots from the field.

Rodgerson led Franklin Pierce in scoring five times this season and rebounding once, when he snared a career-best ten against Merrimack on February 12. He netted a season-high 26 points on a near perfect shooting night in a win at then No. 4-ranked UMass Lowell on November 25 as he was 8-9 from the field, including a program-record 6-6 from three-point range, and canned all four free-throw attempts.

Rodgerson, a three-time Northeast-10 Player of the Week during his career, wrapped up his four-year career ranked eighth in program history with 1,517 career points and 158 career steals. His 227 career three-pointers surpassed the program record of 220 set by Franklin Pierce Hall of Famer Thomas "Butch" Mair from 1987-91.

Minifield is the first Franklin Pierce player to be named to the Northeast-10 Men's Basketball All-Rookie Team since its inception three years ago. Minifield averaged 6.9 points, 5.4 rebounds (6.0 in Conference play), 2.5 assists and 1.5 steals in 29 minutes per contest while starting 21 of 28 games played as a true freshman. He shot a team-high 45.8-percent (66-144) from the field.

The three-time Northeast-10 Freshman of the Week honoree helped lead the Ravens to an 11-10 record over their final 21 games with him in the starting lineup as he averaged 8.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, a team-best 3.0 assists and 1.7 steals per game. The 5-foot, 11-inch, point guard led Franklin Pierce in rebounding a remarkable eight times this season.

Minifield netted a season-high 15 points in his first collegiate start against Concordia (N.Y.) College, on December 29, also totaling six assists and two rebounds in the win. He grabbed a season-high 12 rebounds in a win at Stonehill College on February 4.

Franklin Pierce completed its season with a record of 14-14 overall, 10-12 in the Northeast-10 Conference, The Ravens made their 27^th consecutive postseason appearance with the tenth seed in the NE-10 Tournament before being eliminated by seventh-seeded College of Saint Rose in the first round.