Minnifield three-pointer seals
Ravens third-straight win
PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y.
(November 29, 2006) - Senior captain Darryl
Minnifield's (Boston, Mass./Brookline) three-pointer with
eight-seconds to play lifted Franklin Pierce to its third-straight
victory, an 87-84 decision at Pace University in Northeast-10
Conference men's basketball action at the Goldstein Athletic Center
tonight.
Minnifield's three held off a
furious Pace rally, which saw the hosts come back from a 17-point
deficit five minutes into the second half. The Setters had a look
in the closing seconds to force overtime, but junior Ryan
Williams' (Centreville, Va./Paul VI) off-balance three at
the buzzer was off the mark.
Freshman Marcus Wellman
(Monroe, Conn./Hamden Hall) led Franklin Pierce with a
season-high 22 points (14 first half) as he hit 6-of-12 shots from
the field and converted 8-12 free-throw attempts, to go with eight
rebounds and four assists. Minnifield finished with 18 points (11
first half), three rebounds and three assists, while sophomore
Jack Barrett (Reading, Mass./Andover) netted a
career-best 17 points to go with four rebounds and three assists.
Senior Sean Mayo (Saco, Maine/Thornton Academy)
saw his streak of three-straight double-doubles come to an end, but
chipped in 13 points and six
boards.
Williams led all scorers for Pace
with 27 points (14 first half) as be buried 6-of-11 from
three-point range to go with five assists and two steals. Junior
Desmond Quincy-Jones (Rye, N.Y./Rye) totaled 16
points (14 second half), eight rebounds and three steals, while
sophomore Randy Wilson (Peekskill, N.Y./Peekskill)
added 13 points and seven rebounds (four offensive).
Franklin Pierce shot 50-percent
from the field in each half, also connecting on 5-of-9 from
three-point range in the second half. Pace forced ten second-half
turnovers for the Ravens, turning them into 18 points to aid its
comeback.
Aside from a five-point deficit two
minutes into the contest, Franklin Pierce carried the first half
leading by as many as 12 points before settling for a nine-point
(43-34) advantage at the
intermission.
Pace closed to within a point
(43-42) after a Callum Jones (Manchester, England)
free-throw just 1:48 into the second half, but Franklin Pierce
responded with an 18-2 run to open a 17-point cushion (61-44) after
a Barrett three-pointer with 14:15 to play. Barrett had two three's
during the run and senior Nazim Senaldi (Istanbul,
Turkey) scored four of his eight points during that
stretch.
A Williams three-pointer and time
out sparked Pace to an 18-3 run that cut the gap to a pair (64-62)
after a Wilson jumper with 11:01 to go. Franklin Pierce regained a
six-point cushion (73-67) after a Minnifield three-pointer with
nine-minutes left, but the Setters forced a 76-76 tie with a
conventional three-point play by Quincy-Jones with 5:44 remaining.
Williams knotted the score for the
fifth time (81-81) in the half with a three-pointer with 2:59 left
and then gave the Setters the lead with a jumper with 2:04 to go,
but Mayo converted a three-point play to put Franklin Pierce back
ahead (84-83) with 1:47 left.
Quincy-Jones hit just one of two at
the line to knot the score at 84-84 with 1:31 left and both teams
missed on their next possession before the Ravens held for
one-shot, setting up Minnifield's three from the left wing with
eight seconds left.
Franklin Pierce (4-2, 2-1 NE-10) is
back in action on Saturday when it hosts No. 25 Stonehill College
in a game that will be played at Keene State College's Spaulding
Gymnasium at 3:30 p.m. Pace (3-4, 1-2 NE-10) travels to Southern
New Hampshire University on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
BOXSCORE
& PLAY-BY-PLAY
