Ravens snap skid, hand Purple Knights first home loss

Boxscore 

COLCHESTER, Vt. (January 6, 2009) - Franklin Pierce University handed Saint Michael's College its first home loss of the season with a 63-54 victory in Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball action at Ross Sports Center tonight.

Franklin Pierce snapped its four-game skid with the win, which handed Saint Michael's its first home loss of the season in six contests. The Ravens held the Purple Knights to 30-percent shooting (21-for-70) for the night, including 28.2% (11-39) in the second half, and 3-15 (20%) from three-point range overall. Franklin Pierce hit 41.7-percent (20-48) of its shots from the field, including 46.4% (13-28) in the first half, while finishing 9-for-22 (40.9%) from beyond the arc.

Sophomore guard Jeff Manchester (Gorham, Maine/Gorham) led Franklin Pierce with a game-high 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the field, including 4-for-7 from three-point range, to go with three rebounds. Junior Marcus Wellman (Monroe, Conn./Hamden Hall) added 11 points, five rebounds and two blocked shots off the bench, while senior Rimas Varanauskas (Kaunas, Lithuania/The Winchendon (Mass.) School) grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds to go with nine rebounds in 23 minutes off the bench.

Freshman Qua'ron Pinckney (Bronx, N.Y./Saint Benedict's Prep) led Saint Michael's with 14 points, five rebounds (three offensive) and three steals off the bench. Classmate Tyler Schilling (Excelsior, Minn./Minnetonka) notched a double-double with ten points and ten rebounds (five offensive), while freshman Alex Berthiaume (Springfield, Mass./Cathedral) chipped in 13 points, on 5-of-24 shooting, four rebounds, five assists and five steals.

Franklin Pierce dominated the glass, out-rebounding the hosts by a 52-33 margin, and Saint Michael's couldn't take advantage of 22 Raven turnovers while turning the ball over just nine times themselves.

The game was tied at ten apiece after a Schilling layup with 13:51 left in the first half, when Franklin Pierce scored nine-straight points to gain a lead it would prove not to relinquish the rest of the night. Senior Craig Shepherd (Grantham,  N.H./Trinity) sparked the stretch with a three-pointer. The Ravens lead grew to 12 (25-13) on a Manchester three with 6:14 left in the half and was 15 (35-20) after another Manchester three ball 2:57 before the break.

Leading by 13 at the intermission (36-23), Manchester drained another three to start the second half and Franklin Pierce extended its lead to 18 (43-25) with yet another Manchester trifecta 3:26 in.

Saint Michael's used a 14-4 run to close within eight (58-50) after a layup from senior Mike Iola (West Newbury, Mass./Pentucket Regional) with 1:55 remaining, but the Purple Knights made just one of five field goals down the stretch to stall the rally. Sophomore Chris Hurley (Watertown, Mass./BC High) scored a layup to draw the Purple Knights within seven (61-54) with 19-seconds left, but junior Jack Barrett (Reading, Mass./Andover) iced the Ravens win by sinking two free-throws at the other end to round out the scoring.

Franklin Pierce (5-6, 2-4 NE-10) is back in action on Thursday when it hosts Pace University at 7:30 p.m. Saint Michael's (5-6, 3-6 NE-10) visits Bentley College on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.