Ravens pull to within a game of first place in the NE-10 standings

RINDGE, N.H. (January 14, 2012) -- The Franklin Pierce University men's basketball team shook off a sluggish start and played outstanding on the offensive end in the second half to take down the first-place team in the Northeast-10 Conference, Adelphi, by a score of 61-45 on Saturday at The Fieldhouse in Rindge. The Ravens snapped a two-game losing streak and improved to 11-4 overall and 7-4 in league play, while also moving to within a game of first place in the league standings. The Panthers dipped to 11-4 and 8-3 in the conference.

Freshman forward Ryen Vilmont (Philadelphia, Pa.) knocked down four three-pointers and paced the Ravens with a game-high 17 points. Junior guard Eric Jean-Guillaume (Stamford, Conn.) also connected on four triples and scored 16 points while dishing out five assists, collecting four rebounds and swiping a steal. Sophomore forward Ellis Cooper (Northampton, Mass.) was saddled with foul trouble in the first half, but responded in the second half and scored 11 points, pulled down seven rebounds and blocked away a pair of shots.

Neither side could find any offensive rhythm in the first half and thus struggled shooting the ball. The Ravens managed to shoot just 32 percent (6-of-19), but the Panthers were just as off by connecting on only 31 percent of their attempts (8-of-26).

Despite the poor shooting, Franklin Pierce did manage to close the half on a 7-0 run to take a 23-19 lead into the locker room at halftime. Vilmont highlighted the run with a deep three-pointer from the left corner on the baseline, and that run served as a spark for the Ravens in the second half.

Adelphi did come out and get two easy layups to begin the second stanza and knot the score at 23-all, but it was all Ravens after that, beginning with three-consecutive three's from Vilmont, Jean-Guillaume and sophomore guard Andre Blackwood (Paterson, N.J.).

The teams traded baskets over the next few minutes and the Panthers did trim Franklin Pierce's lead to four at 34-30 with 14:30 remaining, but the Ravens again responded and scored 12-straight points to open up a comfortable 16-point advantage. Jean-Guillaume kick-started the surge with a layup and three-pointer, while sophomore guard Curtis Christian (Harlem, N.Y.) followed with a triple from the right wing. Jean-Guillaume hit another driving layup and Cooper sparked his second-half scoring surge with a forceful layup driving down the center of the lane.

Jean-Guillaume buried another deep three at the 7:53 mark to push Franklin Pierce's lead out to 20 at 54-34. 

Adelphi tried to claw its way back, but could not seem to make the shots when it counted. Vilmont and senior center Adedamola Abu (Mattapan, Mass.) were there to clean up on the glass for Franklin Pierce as each collected four rebounds in the half. Abu failed to score in the game, but he more than made up for it with seven rebounds and two assists in 30 minutes of action.

The closest the Panthers were able to cut into Franklin Pierce's lead was 14 with 5:11 to go, but Cooper was quick to respond with back-to-back jumpers in the paint. He scored all 11 of his points in the second half on 5-of-10 shooting from the field.

Franklin Pierce shot 50 percent from the floor (14-of-28) in the second 20 minutes, including an outstanding 58 percent clip (7-of-12) from three-point range. The Ravens ended up shooting 43 percent for the game (20-of-47).

Franklin Pierce also held a dominating advantage on the glass by outrebounding Adelphi by a 40-29 count. Nine of the 10 Ravens that played logged at least one rebound with six ripping down at least four boards.

Robert Johnson led the Panthers with 12 points as they shot 37 percent (19-of-51) from the field. 

Franklin Pierce improved to 4-1 in The Fieldhouse this season, as all four wins have come by double-digit margins.

Franklin Pierce returns to action Tuesday when the Ravens play host to Assumption at 7:30 p.m. in The Fieldhouse in Rindge.

For more information on Franklin Pierce men's basketball, please visit the team's page at athletics.franklinpierce.edu(.) To follow the program even further, please visit Franklin Pierce Athletics on YouTube (www.youtube.com/FranklinPierceSports), Twitter (www.twitter.com/FPUathletics) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceAthletics).