COLCHESTER, Vt. (November 20, 2013) – Senior forward
Ellis Cooper (Northampton, Mass.) dumped in a
game-high 18 points, but it wasn't enough as the No. 23
nationally ranked Franklin Pierce University men's basketball
team couldn't hold a 14-point second-half lead in dropping a
68-66 decision at Saint Michael's on Wednesday night at Ross
Sports Center in Colchester, Vt.
Franklin Pierce had its five-game
winning streak snapped in falling to 5-1 overall and 0-1 in the
Northeast-10, while the Purple Knights improved to 5-0 and 1-0 in
league play.
Cooper notched a three-point play
on a layup and free throw with 13:32 remaining, and the Ravens took
what seemed to be a comfortable 55-41 advantage. It was Franklin
Pierce's largest lead of the night, as the Ravens had held a
9-12 point lead for most of the early going of the second half.
However, Saint Michael's was
up to the challenge on this night of stringing together a winning
rally. Matt Bonds and James Cambronne each threw in four points
apiece to spark an 8-0 run, as it was part of a 16-4 surge over a
seven-minute span for the Purple Knights to pull within two at
59-57. Cambrone paced St. Mike's with a team-high 17 points,
while Bonds followed with 16.
Cooper stemmed the tide with
three-straight points to put the Ravens up by five with 6:23 to go.
St. Mike's kept coming, and tied the game at 64-all following
a tip-in from Bonds, but Cooper once again responded on the other
end with a layup to put the Ravens up 66-64 with 2:22 left.
It was Bonds' turn to answer,
and he did on a three-point play at the other end of the court to
put the Purple Knights up 67-66. The Ravens had three more
possessions after going down, but could not come up with the
winning basket, as Saint Michael's picked up an impressive
come-from-behind win against one of the top teams in the
nation.
Cooper was one of four Raven
starters to score in double-figures, and was joined by junior
forward Ryen Vilmont (Philadelphia, Pa.) and
freshman guard Donte Gittens (Hartford, Conn.),
who had 11 points apiece, and by senior forward Adrianos
Vourliotakis Perdikaris (Cholargos, Athens) with 10
points.
Each of those four came up big
early as the Ravens raced out to a 10-0 lead to begin the game, and
eventually built a 39-31 lead at halftime.
However, St. Mike's was able
to make the comeback by outrebounding the Ravens, 42-39, and taking
care of the basketball by not committing many turnovers.
Franklin Pierce returns to action
Saturday afternoon when the Ravens travel to North Andover, Mass.
to take on Merrimack at 3 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(.)
