Late turnovers prove costly for
Ravens in seventh-straight defeat
RINDGE, N.H. (February 21,
2006) - The University of Massachusetts Lowell handed
Franklin Pierce its seventh straight loss with a 69-66 decision in
Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball action at the Franklin
Pierce Fieldhouse tonight.
Franklin Pierce (13-14, 10-12
NE-10) remained in ninth place despite the loss and will visit
eighth-seeded Merrimack College (14-14, 12-10 NE-10) in first round
action of the NE-10 Tournament on Saturday at 1 p.m. UMass Lowell
(19-8, 15-7 NE-10) sewed up the third seed and first round bye with
the win. The River Hawks will await the winner of Saturday's first
round battle between sixth-seeded Bryant University and
11th-seeded American International College on Monday at
7 p.m.
Seniors Stacey Moragne
(Evanston, Ill./Evanston) and Brandon
Arnette (Lake Park, Fla./Tilton School) combined for
41 points to lead UMass Lowell. Moragne led all River Hawks with 21
points, including the game-winning free throw with 1.9-seconds
remaining in the contest, to go with eight rebounds and four
assists. Arnette netted 20 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the
field, including 4-of-6 from three-point range.
Senior Carl Benn (Far
Rockaway, N.Y./Lawrence Woodmere Academy) pitched in
14 points, four rebounds and two assists, while sophomore
Adon El (Philadelphia, Pa./St. John
Neumann) grabbed a game-high ten rebounds (six
offensive) and blocked five shots.
Senior Pierre Sully
(Jamaica Plains, Mass./North Cambridge) led four
Franklin Pierce players in double-figures with a team-high 21
points and eight rebounds to go with two steals. Freshman
Jack Barrett (Reading, Mass./Andover)
netted a season-high 13 points, aided by 7-of-8 shooting at the
foul line, five assists and two steals. Classmate
Timothy Munch (Blauvelt, N.Y./Storm King
Prep) totaled 12 points and three steals, while
senior Justin Powell (Brookline,
Mass./Brookline) chipped in 11 points, six boards and
two steals.
UMass Lowell out-shot Franklin
Pierce, 43.1-percent (25-of-58) to 37% (20-of-54), while also
out-rebounding the Ravens 37-32. Franklin Pierce turned the ball
over just 12 times (twice in the last three seconds), compared to
16 for UML, but enjoyed just a 15-14 advantage in points off
turnovers. The Ravens were also just 5-of-19 (26.3%) from
three-point range, but canned 21-of-22 (95.5%) from the free-throw
line.
With the exception of two ties,
Franklin Pierce trailed the entire first half as UMass Lowell held
a four-point lead (31-27) at the break. The River Hawks extended
their lead to six (33-27) after a Moragne lay-up 1:15 into the
second, but the Ravens rallied with a five-straight points on a
Sean Mayo (Saco, Maine/Thornton Academy)
three and Barrett lay-up to close within a point (33-32) just over
a minute later.
Franklin Pierce took its first lead
of the game (39-37) with a Sully three with 15:36 on the clock.
UMass Lowell regained a five-point edge (54-49) after a Moragne
three-pointer with 7:55 to play. A 6-0 Ravens spurt put them up a
point (55-54) after a pair of Barrett free-throws with 5:05 left,
but Benn converted a conventional three-point play to spark a
personal 5-0 run as the River Hawks answered again. A Sully
three-pointer gave the Ravens the lead again (60-59) with 3:09 left
and the teams combined for three ties and three lead changes before
El hit a put back to give UML a one-point lead (66-65) with 1:05 to
play. Barrett went to the line for two shots, but missed his first
attempt, forcing the Ravens to settle for a tie (66-66) with
37-seconds to play.
The game appeared destined for
overtime as the Ravens had the ball after Benn missed a jumper with
three-seconds to play. After a timeout, Franklin Pierce was
whistled for moving with the ball on the end line, handing UMass
Lowell the ball with three-seconds still on the clock. Moragne was
fouled after getting the inbounds pass, and hit one of two as the
River Hawks regained the lead. Franklin Pierce turned the ball over
on a long pass down court and Benn iced the victory with two free
throws with 1.2 seconds to play.
BOXSCORE
