Ellis Cooper powers his way for a double-double of 15 points
and 11 rebounds
RINDGE, N.H. (November 13, 2013) – The Franklin
Pierce University men's basketball team shook off a sluggish
start Wednesday night, and scored 50 second-half points on the way
to an 86-51 win over Lesley at The Fieldhouse in Rindge, N.H. The
Ravens improved to 3-0, while the Lynx fell to 0-1.
Senior forward Ellis Cooper
(Northampton, Mass.) and junior Ryen Vilmont
(Philadelphia, Pa.) were the two double-figure scorers for
the Ravens with 15 and 11 points, respectively. Cooper logged his
third-consecutive double-double with 11 rebounds.
The Ravens' love of the
three-point shot in the early stages of the game got them in
trouble. Shooting just 18 percent initially from beyond the arc,
enabled the undermanned Lynx to take a 23-17 lead midway through
the opening half.
Vilmont, who was one of the
struggling Raven shooters in the opening minutes, finally began to
right himself and kick-started a rally with five-straight points on
a layup and three-pointer. He wound up scoring all 11 of his points
to highlight a furious closing surge by Franklin Pierce in the
waning minutes of the half.
Vilmont's rising offensive
play gave some confidence to other Ravens. Freshman guard
Donte Gittens (Hartford, Conn.) tossed in a couple
layups, and classmate Ben Mead (Ipswich, Suffolk,
England) added a basket as well, as Franklin Pierce closed
out the final 8:07 of the half on a 19-4 run to take a 36-27 lead
into the locker room at halftime.
The closing surge staggered Lesley,
and Cooper's rugged play in the low post in the opening
minutes of the second half was the body blow that knocked out the
Lynx for good. He took control of the glass on the defensive end,
and drew several fouls in the low post, thus sending him to the
foul line where he made four-straight free throws to go along with
a layup to put the Ravens up 52-32 with 14:06 remaining.
Cooper's double-double came
on a night when he was honored prior to the game for scoring his
1,000th career point in the first round of last
season's NCAA Tournament. Wednesday night's game marked
the first time Cooper and Ravens were playing in front of their
home fans after last season's magical ride to the NCAA East
Regional Championship and the Elite Eight.
Franklin Pierce continued to push
the pace, which allowed head coach David
Chadbourne to empty the bench. All 12 Ravens that played
in the game scored, as Franklin Pierce led by as much as 35 points
in the second half.
Senior guard Georgios
Papapetrou (Athens, Greece) came off the bench to drop in
nine points, while Gittens, senior guard Andre Blackwood
(Paterson, N.J.), and classmate Scotty
Tavares-Taylor (Roxbury, Mass.) each added eight. A pair
of Ravens also scored their first collegiate points in a Franklin
Pierce uniform, as junior forward Aboubacar Casse (Dakar,
Senegal) and senior forward Ndubisi Ezeigwe
(Brockton, Mass.) each bombed in a three-pointer.
Franklin Pierce held a 57-39
advantage on the boards, and also got seven rebounds from senior
Curtis Christian (Harlem, N.Y.). Eight Ravens had
at least four rebounds apiece.
Franklin Pierce returns to action
Friday when it travels to Colchester, Vt. to take part in the Saint
Michael's Tip-Off Tournament. The Ravens will face LIU Post
on Friday at 5:30 p.m., followed by a showdown with Molloy on
Saturday at 4 p.m.
For more information on Franklin
Pierce men's basketball, please visit the team's page
at http://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/FranklinPierceRavens).
Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce men's basketball
apparel can do so on the athletic department's online store
at http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store(.)
