RINDGE, N.H. (December 10, 2013) – Four Ravens
scored in double-figures and two more tossed in nine points apiece,
as the No. 24 nationally ranked Franklin Pierce University
men's basketball team closed out its first half of the season
Tuesday night with an important 93-84 win over Bentley at The
Fieldhouse in Rindge.
The Ravens won for the sixth time
in a row to improve to 11-1 and 6-1 in the Northeast-10. The win
gave the Ravens a two-game lead over Bentley (7-3, 4-3 NE-10), as
the Falcons came into Tuesday night's contest a game back in
second place in the league standings of the Northeast Division.
Sophomore guard Tyler
Iacuone (Mahopac, N.Y.) and senior forward
Adrianos Vourliotakis Perdikaris (Cholargos,
Athens) each pumped in a team-high 17 points to pace the
Ravens, while forwards Ryen Vilmont (Philadelphia,
Pa.) and Ellis Cooper (Northampton,
Mass.) netted 16 apiece.
If that wasn't enough a pair
of reserves came off the pine to contribute offensively as senior
guards Scotty Tavares-Taylor (Roxbury, Mass.) and
Curtis Christian (Harlem, N.Y.) had nine points
each.
Franklin Pierce shot 51 percent
from the field, but the Ravens weren't the only team on the
court lighting it as the Falcons shot 50 percent themselves and had
five register double-digit scoring outputs.
Tyler McFarland was an impressive
11-of-14 from the floor with a game-high 24 points, while Jasper
Grassa followed with 18. Shaq Phelps and Andrew Shaw each logged 13
points, while Alex Furness chipped in 10. McFarland's 24
points went along with 11 rebounds for a double-double.
Franklin Pierce's balanced
scoring was evident throughout the latter stages of the game, as
seven different Ravens scored to keep them ahead the remainder of
the way after Bentley had pulled to within five at 60-55 with 13:21
left.
Tavares-Taylor and Vourliotakis
rained in back-to-back three's to quickly extend Franklin
Pierce's lead to 11 at 66-55, and minutes later Vourliotakis
laid in a bucket to stake the Ravens to a 14-point advantage.
Bentley tried to keep things
interesting by cutting the deficit to 80-72 with 5:27 to go, but
senior guard Andre Blackwood (Paterson, N.J.)
bombed in a triple for another double-figure margin for the
Ravens.
The Falcons, though, came right
back by cutting Franklin Pierce's lead to 85-80 following
three free throws from Grassa. Christian stemmed it with a free
throw, and Blackwood hit four-straight foul shots after that to
make it a comfortable 90-80 advantage with just :34 left.
Eight of the nine Ravens that
played in the game scored, including Blackwood with seven and
freshman Ben Mead (Ipswich, Suffolk, England) with
two.
The first half went back and forth
between both sides. Cooper hit a layup with 8:24 left until
halftime to make it 27-18 Franklin Pierce, but the Falcons
countered and eventually took a 33-32 lead minutes later after a
layup from Phelps.
The teams traded baskets and
McFarland's three with 3:05 to go made it 37-34 Bentley, but
Franklin Pierce answered late and a jumper from Iacuone helped the
Ravens take a narrow 43-41 lead into the break.
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(.)
