Scotty Tavares-Taylor hits a pair of three's early in second
half to spark winning run
MANCHESTER, N.H. (December 4, 2013) -- Junior forward
Ryen Vilmont (Philadelphia, Pa.) threw in a
game-high tying 22 points, and the Franklin Pierce University men's
basketball team drained 10 three-pointers on 50 percent shooting
from beyond the arc to key an important 77-63 win over Southern New
Hampshire on Wednesday night in Manchester.
The Ravens won their fourth
straight to improve to 9-1 overall and 4-1 in the Northeast-10,
while the Penmen dipped to 3-4 and 1-4 in league play.
Vilmont's 22 points came on an
impressive 4-of-5 shooting from downtown, while also going a cool
10-for-10 from the free throw line.
Senior forward Ellis Cooper
(Northampton, Mass.) was Franklin Pierce's other
double-digit scorer with a double-double of 15 points and 13
rebounds (his third-straight double-double output), while two other
Ravens came off the bench to catch fire scoring in freshman
Ben Mead (Ipswich, Suffolk, England) and senior
Scotty Tavares-Taylor (Roxbury, Mass.) with nine
and eight points, respectively.
Mead and Tavares-Taylor joined
Vilmont in the three-point barrage, as the trio combined for nine
of Franklin Pierce's 10 triples on 20 attempts during the evening.
Mead was a perfect 3-for-3 from beyond the arc, while
Tavares-Taylor drilled a pair of his own.
Their outstanding three-point
shooting was evident in a crucial stretch early in the second half
which eventually staked the Ravens to a 48-29 lead with 13:22 left.
In a little more than a two minute span, Tavares-Taylor sank
back-to-back three's, followed by a triple apiece from Vilmont and
Mead.
Vilmont bombed in a pair of three's
on back-to-back possessions minutes later to extend Franklin
Pierce's lead to a comfortable 62-44 margin with 9:22 left.
SNHU tried to muster up a rally by
scoring 12 of the next 13 points, highlighted by five five points
from Elijah Bonsignore and four from CJ Marriro, but Vilmont
stemmed it quickly with a pair of foul shots.
From there, the Ravens put the
defensive stops to the Penmen's comeback, and three-straight layups
from freshman Donte Gittens (Hartford, Conn.) put
Franklin Pierce back up by double-digits where it would stay the
rest of the contest. Gittens finished with a solid all-around game
of eight points, five assists, four rebounds, and three blocks.
Senior guard Curtis
Christian (Harlem, N.Y.) was Franklin Pierce's other
three-point shooter on the night, as he had the Ravens' other bomb
from deep.
Bonsignore netted 22 points for the
Penmen, while Marriro and Rodney Sanders had nine apiece.
The Ravens shot 51 percent
(25-of-49) from the field, and a strong 85 percent (17-of-20) from
the foul line. Cooper's 13 boards, along with Vilmont's seven,
enabled the Ravens to hold a sizeable 39-28 advantage on the
glass.
Gittens' dunk midway through the
first half put Franklin Pierce up 19-11, but SNHU clawed its way
back to within two at 22-20 after a three from Mike Stys with 2:01
left. Mead answered with a pair of triples to help extend the
Ravens' lead to 30-22 at the break.
Franklin Pierce returns to action
Saturday when the Ravens play host to Saint Anselm at 3:30 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/FranklinPierceRavens). Fans wishing to purchase
Franklin Pierce men's basketball apparel can do so on the athletic
department's online store at
athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store(.)
