Andre Blackwood comes off the bench to drop in two triples and
score 14 points
EASTON, Mass. (January 31, 2012) -- The Franklin Pierce
University men's basketball team picked up a huge win on Tuesday
night as the Ravens went on the road and knocked off first-place
Stonehill, 82-79, in Merkert Gymnasium in Easton, Mass. The Ravens
improved to 15-5 overall and 11-5 in the Northeast-10, while the
Skyhawks fell to 14-6 and 11-5 in league play.
With the win, Franklin Pierce
pulled off the regular season sweep of the Skyhawks as the Ravens
also picked up a 57-47 triumph in Rindge back on Nov. 22. Tuesday's
win also marked Franklin Pierce's second victory this season over a
first-place team in the NE-10 standings as the Ravens downed
Adelphi, 61-45, in Rindge back on Jan. 14.
Five Ravens scored in
double-figures, including two coming off the bench in a reserve
role. Sophomore forward Ellis Cooper (Northampton,
Mass.) tossed in a team-high 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting
from the field, while also grabbing five rebounds and blocking five
shots.
Senior forward Adedamola Abu (Mattapan, Mass.)
shot 6-of-8 from the floor and netted 14 points, while also
collecting five boards. Classmate Nigel Van Oostrum
(Sheffield, England) chipped in with 11 points.
Franklin Pierce also received
valuable offensive contributions off the bench from sophomores
Andre Blackwood (Paterson, N.J.) and
Adrianos Vourliotakis Perdikaris (Cholargos,
Athens). Blackwood knocked down a pair of three-pointers
and scored a season-high 14 points, while Perdikaris was 5-of-7
from the floor with 10 points.
The Ravens shot a blistering 62
percent (32-of-52) from the field and did a good job of taking care
of the basketball by committing just 12 turnovers. Van Oostrum
dished out five assists, while sophomore guard Curtis
Christian (Harlem, N.Y.) added three.
Brian Hamor paced Stonehill with a
game-high 21 points, while Patrick Lee totaled a double-double with
14 points and 14 rebounds. Adam Fazzini came off the bench to dump
in three three-pointers and scored 14 points and Andre Tongo
chipped in with 13 points. Stonehill, too, shot well from the
field, converting on 44 percent of its attempts (30-of-68).
After a back-and-forth first half
which saw eight ties and 10 lead changes, Franklin Pierce began to
flex its muscle in the opening minutes of the second half and used
a 12-2 surge to open up a 48-38 lead with 15:21 remaining. Freshman
forward Ryen Vilmont (Philadelphia, Pa.) opened
the run with a three-pointer and Cooper followed with back-to-back
layups. Blackwood drained a trey and Perdikaris capped it with a
driving layup.
Stonehill, which it would do all
night, chipped away at the deficit and got to within five at 55-50
with 11:44 left. But Franklin Pierce countered with another run and
scored 11-consecutive points, highlighted by five points apiece
from Cooper and Abu, to open up a commanding 66-50 advantage with
8:14 to go.
The Skyhawks began their rally and
scored 13 of the game's next 15 points to pull to within five at
68-63 with 4:47 to go. Hamor started the run with six-straight
points, including a trey and a three-point play on a layup and free
throw. Lee laid in a pair of baskets and Hamor capped the surge
with another three-point play on a layup and free throw.
The Ravens used two points apiece
from Vilmont, Abu and Blackwood over the next couple of possessions
to go up by nine at 74-65. Hamor, though, wouldn't give up and
moments later pulled his team to within five at 76-71 with 1:49 to
go following a deep three-pointer.
Cooper responded for the Ravens
with a three-point play to make it 79-71, but Stonehill continued
to be pesky and eventually got to within 80-76 with :19 left as
Hamor converted a three-point play. Vilmont, though, converted two
free throws in the final seconds to seal the win for the Ravens and
end Stonehill's threat at a comeback.
Vilmont finished with nine points,
including going 6-of-6 from the foul line.
The first half was a wild affair.
Abu laid in a basket to give the Ravens an early 11-6 lead, but the
Skyhawks countered with eight-consecutive points to take a 14-11
edge with 12:45 left until halftime.
The rest of the stanza saw six ties
and five lead changes, including seeing Franklin Pierce score the
final five points to take a 36-32 lead into the locker room at
halftime. Blackwood drained a three and Perdikaris netted a layup
to close out the half in fine fashion for the Ravens.
Franklin Pierce returns to action
Saturday when the Ravens play host to Saint Michael's at 3:30 p.m.
in The Fieldhouse in Rindge. The game will be part of Rocky the
Raven Kids Day, which will feature games, prizes and free giveaways
for all area youth in attendance. Children will be admitted to both
the men's and women's basketball for free, if accompanied by a
paying adult.
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).
