Ravens open tough stretch with fifth win in six outings

Boxscore 

RINDGE, N.H. (January 20, 2009) - Franklin Pierce University opened a tough eight-game stretch with a 79-68 victory over Assumption College in Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball action at the Fieldhouse tonight.

Franklin Pierce, which will play eight of its next ten games on the road with a pair of four-game road trips, was led by senior Rimas Varanauskas (Kaunas, Lithuania/The Winchendon School) with a game-high 25 points (14 first half) on 7-of-16 shooting from the field, including 2-for-3 from three-point range, converting 9-of-13 free-throws, to go with six rebounds and two blocked shots in 27 minutes. Sophomore Jeff Manchester (Gorham, Maine/Gorham) added 15 points, draining 5-of-10 three-pointers, and a career-best nine rebounds, while junior Marcus Wellman (Monroe, Conn./Hamden Hall) posted 11 points (eight second half), hitting 6-of-7 free-throws, five assists and three rebounds. Sophomore Kinard Dozier (Dedham, Mass./The Winchendon School) chipped in with ten points (all second half).

Junior Courtland Bluford (Fort Washington, Md./Saint Vincent Pallotti) led Assumption with 19 points as he made 6-of-13 shots from the field, including 4-of-7 three-pointers, and converted 3-of-4 free-throws to go with four rebounds, three assists and two steals in 25 minutes off the bench. Senior Patrick Shea (Salem, Mass./Salem) notched a double-double with ten points and a game-high 15 rebounds, adding five rebounds. Sophomore Mike Baldarelli (Sutton, Mass./Holy Name) chipped in 12 points, draining 4-of-5 three-pointers, and six rebounds.

Franklin Pierce shot 41.8-percent (23-for-55) from the field, including 9-for-21 (42.9%) from three-point range, after hitting at 43.3% (13-30) in the first half, including 6-12 (50%) from beyond the arc. Assumption finished shooting 33.3% (22-66) from the field after converting just 9-of-31 (29%) shots from the field in the first half. The Greyhounds remained in the game by burying 13-of-29 (44.8%) three-pointers, including 9-of-18 (50%) over the final 20 minutes.

Franklin Pierce used a 15-2 run midway through the second half to answer an Assumption surge to open the half and regain control of the game that the Ravens led by 11 (36-25) at halftime. The Greyhounds quickly drew within three (36-33) 3:17 into the second half as Baldarelli sandwiched a dunk by sophomore Savoy Fraine (Granada Hills, Calif./Granada Hills) with a pair of three-pointers. Back-to-back baskets by Dozier had the Ravens back up seven (40-33) with 15:13 to go, but Assumption forced the first tie (42-42) since early in the first half with a Bluford three with 13:37 to play. 

Franklin Pierce regained control with its 15-2 run over the next four minutes to open a 13-point cushion (57-44) with 9:44 to play after five-straight free-throws by Wellman over two possessions. A Bluford free-throw had Assumption back within eight (61-53) with 6:32 remaining, but the Ravens posted a game-clinching 13-5 stretch to gain a game-high 16-point lead (74-58) with 1:02 to play after two free-throws from Varanauskas.

A 15-3 Franklin Pierce run turned a 7-7 tie 4:29 into the contest into a 12-point lead (22-10) after a Wellman three with 10:15 left in the first half. The run was part of a greater 20-3 run for the Ravens after Assumption had scored the first five points of the contest and led 7-2 2:39 into the game. Manchester buried three from beyond the arc during that stretch.

Assumption responded by closing within six (27-21) after a Baldarelli three with 6:46 left before the break, but Franklin Pierce pushed its lead to 12 (36-24) after a lay-up from junior Terrell Ray (Brooklyn, N.Y./Fort Hamilton) with 24-seconds to go before halftime.  

Franklin Pierce (9-7, 6-5 NE-10) is back in action on Saturday when it opens its first of two four-game road trips down the stretch at the University of Massachusetts Lowell at 4 p.m. The Ravens don't return home until Wednesday, February 4, to host Stonehill College at 7:30 p.m. Assumption (11-6, 9-4 NE-10) hosts Le Moyne College on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.