Terrell Ray totals 24 points and nine rebounds; Kinard Dozier
adds 15 points and seven assists
BOXSCORE
RINDGE, N.H. (February 6, 2010) - The Franklin Pierce
University men's basketball team snapped a two-game losing skid on
Saturday afternoon with a 69-58 win over Southern New Hampshire in
The Fieldhouse in Rindge. The Ravens, who improved to 10-12 overall
and 5-12 in the Northeast-10, swept the two-game regular season
series from the Penmen (13-9, 8-9 NE-10). Franklin Pierce also
picked up an 83-77 win over SNHU back on Jan. 2 in Manchester. That
win also snapped a losing streak for the Ravens, who entered the
game on a six-game skid.
Senior forward Terrell Ray
(Brooklyn, N.Y.) led Franklin Pierce on this afternoon
with 24 points and nine rebounds on 9-of-11 shooting from the
field. It marked the second strong performance for Ray versus the
Penmen this season, as he had 18 points and eight boards in the
first meeting.
Junior guard Kinard Dozier
(Dedham, Mass.), who was named to the NE-10 Weekly Honor
Roll this past Monday, followed with 15 points, five rebounds and a
game-high seven assists. Dozier was just three assists shy of his
second double-double for the week, as he tallied 13 points and 12
rebounds in Wednesday's contest at Stonehill.
Senior guard Marcus Wellman
(Monroe, Conn.) shot a respectable 3-of-6 from behind the
arc and had nine points and five boards, while freshman
backcourt-mate Eric Jean-Guillaume (Stamford,
Conn.) chipped in with eight points.
Tory Stapleton had a team-best 14
points for Southern New Hampshire and Stephen Wood was next with 12
points.
The Ravens shot a solid 47 percent
(23-of-49) from the floor, including 45 percent (9-of-20) from
three-point range. They also held a 36-28 advantage in rebounding.
Franklin Pierce raced out of the
gates and scored the first 15 points of the contest. Ray pumped in
the initial five points, while Dozier and Jean-Guillaume threw in
consecutive treys to aid in it.
After SNHU finally got on the board
with a basket, Ravens freshman guard Curtis Christian
(Harlem, N.Y.) responded with a triple of his own to make
18-2 with 14:30 left in the half.
The Penmen made a few brief rallies
and whittled their deficit to 10 points on two occasions. However,
Franklin Pierce would find an answer and built a 45-30 lead heading
into the locker room at halftime. Ray, who had 18 points in the
opening 20 minutes, capped the Ravens impressive first half with a
layup near the half's final buzzer.
The Ravens led by as many as 18
points in the opening minutes of the second half, but that
comfortable lead was short-lived as SNHU stormed back to make it a
game.
Trailing 63-45 with 8:11 remaining,
Southern New Hampshire mounted a furious rally, including going on
a 13-1 run to pull within 64-58 with a little over three minutes
left. Cory Vejraska helped aid the run with four-straight points
late.
SNHU forced a turnover immediately
following their run, but Stapleton could not convert a layup on the
other end. Dozier swooped in for the rebound and was immediately
fouled, sending him to the free throw line with just 1:16 left. He
made both free throws to stem the tide, and following another SNHU
miss at the other end of the court, Ray laid in a basket to put the
game out of reach at 68-58. Ray also made one more free throw late
to round out the scoring and seal the win for the Ravens.
Franklin Pierce returns to action
Tuesday night when it plays host to Saint Michael's at 7:30 p.m. in
The Fieldhouse in Rindge. Fans who cannot attend the game can
follow it online via audio, video and/or live stats through the
team's page at athletics.franklinpierce.edu(.)
