RINDGE, N.H. (February 4, 2012) -- The Franklin Pierce
University men's basketball team had all it could handle in the
first half with Saint Michael's on Saturday, but the Ravens pulled
away in the second half for a satisfying 64-54 win over the Purple
Knights at The Fieldhouse in Rindge. Franklin Pierce won their
third straight and for the sixth time in the last seven games to
improve to 16-5 overall and 12-5 in the Northeast-10. St. Mike's
dipped to 7-14 and 6-11 in league play.
It was a balanced attack for the
Ravens as eight of the 10 players that saw game action scored at
least three points. Nine of the 10 also grabbed at least one
rebound. Franklin Pierce shot a solid 47 percent (23-of-49) from
the field, including going for a strong 44 percent (7-of-16) from
three-point range.
Sophomore forward Ellis
Cooper (Northampton, Mass.) paced Franklin Pierce with 15
points, while also pulling down six rebounds, swiping five steals
and dishing out three assists. Three of Cooper's point total came
early in the game as he took an outstanding outlet pass from junior
guard Eric Jean-Guillaume (Stamford, Conn.) and
threw down a monster jam while getting fouled. Cooper capped the
exciting three-point play with the ensuing free throw.
Jean-Guillaume also had a big hand on the offensive side for the
Ravens as he dropped in three three-pointers and scored 13
points.
Sophomore center Adrianos
Vourliotakis Perdikaris (Cholargos, Athens) came off the
bench to score nine points on 4-of-5 shooting. Classmate
Curtis Christian (Harlem, N.Y.) also provided a
nice scoring spark off the bench with eight points, while also
collecting four rebounds and handing out three assists. Freshman
forward Ryen Vilmont (Philadelphia, Pa.) went for
seven points and five rebounds, while senior Adedamola Abu
(Mattapan, Mass.) ripped down a game-high seven
boards.
St. Mike's proved to be a hard out
in this game as the Purple Knights got a game-high 25 points from
Mike Holton Jr., including five three-pointers. Corey Crawford
chipped in with 12 points.
Franklin Pierce clung to a slim
31-28 lead coming out of the locker room at halftime, but the
Ravens knew it would take a better all-around effort in the second
20 minutes if they were going to pull out the victory. The Ravens
were up to the challenge and scored the frame's first seven points
over a four-minute span to take a 38-28 advantage. Senior guard
Nigel Van Oostrum (Sheffield, England) keyed the
surge with five points, including knocking down a deep
three-pointer from the left wing.
The Purple Knights trimmed their
deficit to six at 40-34 with 14:42 to go after Holton Jr. converted
a three-point play on a transition layup and foul shot. Christian,
though, had an answer at the other end of the court for Franklin
Pierce as he slipped out to the left wing and buried a triple to
give the Ravens a nine-point advantage.
The teams traded baskets over the
next several minutes before Jean-Guillaume drained a three to push
Franklin Pierce out to a 49-38 lead with 11:25 remaining. Saint
Michael's, though, responded with four-straight points on
back-to-back jumpers from Crawford and Tyler Schilling.
Franklin Pierce wasn't about to let
Saint Michael's pull off the comeback and slowly went back to work
and put on an 8-0 surge to take a 57-42 lead with 8:11 left.
Christian, again, provided the answer for the Ravens as he dished
off a sweet pass to Perdikaris, who laid in a basket while drawing
a foul and converting the ensuing free throw to cap a three-point
play. Christian wasn't finished and capped Franklin Pierce's run
with a driving layup.
That surge proved to be the
difference as the Purple Knights had no answer for it. Franklin
Pierce did not let its lead slip below double-digits the rest of
the way and led by as many as 16 points at 62-46 with 3:35 left
following jumper from Jean-Guillaume.
The win marked Franklin Pierce's
seventh triumph in eight home games this season with each victory
coming by a double-digit margin. The 16 wins, overall, for Franklin
Pierce are the most since the 2000-01 season.
Neither side gained the upper
advantage in the opening 20 minutes as the period saw five ties and
nine lead changes. St. Mike's netted seven-consecutive points
midway through the half, including a trey from Holton Jr. and four
points from Travis Warech, to take a 24-21 lead with 7:42 to
go.
After a quick, 30-second timeout,
Vilmont knotted the game at 24-all with a three-pointer. The Ravens
eventually scored the half's final five points, including a three
from Jean-Guillaume and a last-second layup from Perdikaris to take
a 31-28 lead into the locker room.
Franklin Pierce returns to action
Wednesday night when the Ravens play host to in-state rival
Southern New Hampshire 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).
