Minnifield's winning basket with
1.4-seconds to play in OT caps 19-point outing
RINDGE, N.H. (November 26,
2006) - Senior Darryl Minnifield's (Boston,
Mass./Brookline) runner with 1.4-seconds left in overtime
lifted Franklin Pierce to a 71-69 victory over Bryant University in
Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball action at the Fieldhouse
this afternoon.
Minnifield's game-winning basket
capped a game-high 19 point effort for the Franklin Pierce captain,
who hit 8-of-15 from the field, to go with eight rebounds and four
steals. Senior Sean Mayo (Saco, Maine/Thornton
Academy) collected his third-straight double-double with
18 points, hitting 8-of-12 from the field, and a game-high ten
rebounds to go with four blocks, three assists and three steals.
Freshman Marcus Wellman (Monroe, Conn./Hamden
Hall) added 13 points, five rebounds and five assists,
while senior Nazim Senaldi (Istanbul, Turkey)
chipped in nine points, eight boards and four steals.
Senior Chris Burns
(Merrimack, N.H./Merrimack) led Bryant and was the lone
Bulldogs starter in double-figures with 16 points (12 after
halftime), aided by 4-of-9 shooting from three-point range, and
three assists. Sophomore Nick Pontes (New Bedford,
Mass./New Bedford) and freshman Cecil Gresham
(Bloomfield, Conn./Maine Central Institute) led a Bulldogs
bench that netted 32 points with 12 points each. Pontes also
totaled five rebounds and three blocks, while Gresham snared four
offensive
rebounds.
Franklin Pierce erased a six-point
(30-24) halftime deficit with 60-percent (15-25) shooting in the
second half, including 6-for-14 (42.9%) from three-point range, and
hit 4-7 shots (57.1%) in the extra period to close out the win and
finish shooting 49.1% (28-57) for the afternoon. Bryant shot just
42.4% (25-59) from the field, despite a 50% (12-24) effort in the
second half. The Ravens also profited from 19 Bryant turnovers,
turning them into 19 points at the other end.
Franklin Pierce trailed by as much
as ten points in the first half and were down eight (32-24) after a
Jerran Wright (Cincinnati, Ohio/Dater) jumper
14-seconds into the second half. The Ravens responded with a 14-2
run to take a four-point lead (38-34) after a Minnifield
three-pointer with 13:09 to play.
The Ravens led by six (53-47) after
a Senaldi jumper with 7:39 left in regulation when Bryant responded
with a 7-0 spurt to regain the lead (54-53) after a four-point play
by Burns with 5:58 left in regulation. Franklin Pierce's lead was
again four (61-57) after a Wellman layup with 44-seconds left, but
Bryant got a Gresham jumper with 24-seconds left and Burns forced
the fourth tie of the second half with a jumper with nine-seconds
to play after a Franklin Pierce miss at the line. Franklin Pierce
had a possession to win it in regulation, but Wellman's three was
off the mark as time expired.
Senior Nathaniel Sudlow
(Brooklyn, N.Y./Tilden) hit two free-throws to put Bryant
ahead (63-61) 32-seconds into overtime, but Franklin Pierce got
back-to-back layups from Mayo to regain the lead. Burns buried a
three-pointer to put the Bulldogs back up a point (68-67) with 1:16
left, but Senaldi hit a layup with 54-seconds left to put the hosts
in front for good.
Sudlow split his free-throw
attempts, knotting the score at 69, with 15-seconds left, setting
up Minnifield's winning basket with 1.4-seconds to go. The Bulldogs
had one last chance, but turned the ball over on the inbound
pass.
Franklin Pierce (2-2, 1-1 NE-10)
hosts Saint Joseph's College of Vermont in a non-conference clash
tomorrow night at 7 p.m. Bryant (2-2, 1-1 NE-10) hosts Assumption
College on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
BOXSCORE
& PLAY-BY-PLAY
