Ravens clinch home court for first
round of NE-10 Tournament
RINDGE, N.H. (February 20,
2007) - Franklin Pierce clinched home court advantage in
the opening round of the upcoming Northeast-10 Conference
Tournament with an 86-83 victory over Saint Michael's College in
NE-10 men's basketball action at the Fieldhouse tonight.
Franklin Pierce (13-13, 11-11
NE-10) finishes the regular season in a seventh-place tie with
Stonehill College in the NE-10 standings. The eighth-seeded Ravens
(as result of the tiebreaker with Stonehill) will host ninth-seeded
Saint Anselm College (14-13, 10-12 NE-10) in a first round contest
on Saturday at 2 p.m. Saint Michael's (15-12, 12-10 NE-10) has
earned the sixth seed and will host 11th-seeded
Assumption College (11-16, 9-13 NE-10) on Saturday at 2 p.m.
Franklin Pierce does have one final
regular season contest on the slate as the Ravens visit Concordia
(N.Y.) College in a non-conference clash on Thursday at 7
p.m.
Senior Darryl Minnifield
(Boston, Mass./Brookline) led the way for Franklin Pierce
with his second double-double of the season (third career) as he
netted 18 points (14 second half), hitting 6-of-11 shots from the
field, including 2-4 from three-point range, to go with ten
rebounds (four offensive) and four assists. Sophomore Rimas
Varanauskas (Kaunas, Lithuania) added a career-best 18
points, hitting 6-10 shots from the field and converting 6-8
free-throws, in 21 minutes off the bench to go with eight rebounds
and three blocked shots.
Sophomore Timothy Munch
(Blauvelt, N.Y./Storm King Prep) contributed 16 points and
seven rebounds, while classmate Jack Barrett (Reading,
Mass./Andover) chipped in ten points, six assists and two
rebounds.
Senior Brendan Mullins
(Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove South) led Saint
Michael's with 26 points (19 second half), aided by a perfect
10-for-10 shooting effort at the free-throw line, and four
rebounds. Junior James Sorrentine (Pawtucket, R.I./Saint
Raphael Academy) totaled 18 points, draining 6-of-10
three-pointers, and four assists, while classmate Brian
Monahan (Kinderhook, N.Y./Christian Brothers Academy)
contributed 12 points, shooting 6-9 from the field. Sophomore
Jon Zylstra (Uxbridge, Mass./Whitinsville
Christian) chipped in ten points and six rebounds in 11
minutes off the bench, while senior Chris Cayole
(Burlington, Vt./Rice Memorial) grabbed a game-high 11
rebounds.
Franklin Pierce hit 47.5-percent
(29-of-61) of its shots from the field, including 9-of-18 (50%)
from three-point range. The Ravens shot 51.7% (15-29) from the
floor in the second half, draining 5-9 (55.6%) three's. Saint
Michael's shot 46.8% (29-62) from the field overall, including
51.5% (17-33) in the second half, and converted 15-of-16 (93.8%)
free-throw
attempts.
Saint Michael's jumped out to a
quick six-point lead (16-10) just over five minutes into the
contest, sparked by a trio of three-pointers from Sorrentine.
Franklin Pierce answered with a 19-2 run over the next five minutes
to race to an 11-point lead (29-18) after Munch put back his own
miss with 9:37 left in the opening half. Freshman Marcus
Wellman (Monroe, Conn./Hamden Hall) hit a pair of three's
and Munch added a third to spark the run.
Saint Michael's closed the gap to
five at the break (34-29) and closed within two (40-38) after a
Mullins jumper 4:14 into the second half. Leading by three (45-42)
with 13:32 left, Franklin Pierce used a 14-4 run to open a
game-high 13-point bulge (59-46) after a Munch three with 9:19 on
the clock. Munch hit two three's and Minnifield and senior
Sean Mayo (Saco, Maine/Thornton Academy) also
connected from long-distance during that stretch.
The Ravens lead was ten (71-61)
after a Wellman layup with 3:40 to go, but Saint Michael's had one
last run left in it. Sorrentine drained a three to pull the Purple
Knights within five (76-71) with 1:24 to go and the Ravens lead was
just four after a pair of Mullins free-throws with 1:06 to play.
Franklin Pierce hit four of six
free-throws in a 16-second span in the final minute to regain an
eight point advantage (83-75) with 13-seconds to play, but Saint
Michael's still drew within a point (84-83) after a Mullins three
after the Ravens missed three of their next four free-throws.
However, just 0.7-seconds remained and when the Purple Knights
called a timeout they didn't have, Munch iced the game with two
free-throws on the technical foul.
BOXSCORE
& PLAY-BY-PLAY
