Slow start too much for Ravens to overcome as Dolphins advance to quarterfinals

Boxscore 

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (February 28, 2009) - Sixth-seeded Le Moyne College built a 23-point lead by halftime and never looked back in posting a 73-53 victory over 11^th-seeded Franklin Pierce University in first round action of the 2009 Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball championships at Ted Grant Court this afternoon.

Le Moyne (18-10, 13-9 NE-10), winners of nine-straight and 11 of 12, advances to Monday's quarterfinal round of the NE-10 Tournament and will visit third-seeded Stonehill College (21-6, 16-6 NE-10) at 7 p.m. The Skyhawks earned a first round bye in the tournament. The NE-10 Tournament continues with semifinal round action on Thursday (7 p.m.) with the NE-10 Championship and Conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament awarded next Saturday at 1 p.m. Franklin Pierce, which was making its 32^nd postseason appearance in the last 33 years, sees its season come to a close at 11-17, including an 8-14 mark in the NE-10.

Sophomore Kevin Roth (Lake View, N.Y./St. Francis) led a balanced Le Moyne effort with a game-high 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field, converting 2-of-3 free-throw attempts, to go with seven rebounds, four assists, a blocked shot and a steal. Junior forward Laurence Ekperigin (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Walter Panas), named the NE-10 Player of the Year yesterday, finished with 12 points, on 6-of-9 shooting, four rebounds, four blocks and two steals in 21 minutes of play.

Freshman Christopher Johnson (Lindenhurst, N.Y./Lindenhurst) came off the bench to add ten points, five rebounds and two steals, while junior Damani Corbin (Brooklyn, N.Y./Frederick Douglass) also posted ten points to go with five assists and four steals. Senior Phil Barnes (Georgetown, Cayman Islands) chipped in nine points and seven boards.

Junior Jack Barrett (Reading, Mass./Andover) and sophomore Jeff Manchester (Gorham, Maine/Gorham) each finished with 12 points to lead Franklin Pierce. Barrett made 4-of-6 shots from the field, including 4-for-5 from three-point range, to go with three assists, while Manchester contributed three rebounds. Junior Terrell Ray (Brooklyn, N.Y./Fort Hamilton) grabbed a career-best ten rebounds (seven offensive) to go with seven points and two assists.

Le Moyne finished shooting 49.2-percent (29-for-59) from the field after hitting at 51.5% (17-33) in the first half. Franklin Pierce shot 31.3-percent (20-for-64) from the floor, but just 21.9% (7-32) in the opening 20 minutes, including 1-for-10 (10%) from beyond the arc. The Dolphins posted an 18-8 advantage in points off turnovers, but the Ravens did notch a 43-39 rebounding advantage. Franklin Pierce also struggled at the free-throw line, making just 5-of-12 (41.7%) attempts.

Le Moyne never trailed and built a double-digit lead (17-7) by the midway point of the first half after the Dolphins scored seven-straight points, sparked by an Ekperigin dunk and Johnson three-pointer. The 7-0 spurt was part of an overall 16-2 run that put the Dolphins up 17 (26-9) after a Barnes layup with 8:20 left in the first half. Corbin converted a conventional three-point play to put the hosts up 25 (41-16) with 1:54 left before the intermission before they settled for the 23-point (41-18) halftime margin.

The final 20-point margin was as close as Franklin Pierce would get the rest of the way as Le Moyne extended its lead to 29 (58-29) after a jumper by junior Kevin Hassett (Phoenix, Ariz./Iona College) with 12:32 to play. The lead grew to as much as 30 (66-36) after a Barnes three with 7:47 remaining before the Ravens closed the gap to 20 at the end.