WEST HAVEN, Conn. (January 18, 2014) – Senior
forward Ellis Cooper (Northampton, Mass.) laid in
the game-winning basket at the buzzer Saturday to lift the No. 22
nationally ranked Franklin Pierce University men's basketball
team to a thrilling 69-68 win over New Haven at Charger Gymnasium
in West Haven, Conn.
The Ravens won for the second time
in a row and improved to 13-2 overall and 8-2 in the Northeast-10,
while New Haven fell to 11-5 and 6-4 in league play.
Cooper's game-winner was part
of his game-high tying 22 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the
floor, and capped a frantic final 1:13 of the game that saw five
lead changes.
Cooper's layup came via a
coast-to-coast dash the length of the court with :03.6 left on the
clock. He was able to beat the buzzer with a quick release that
found nothing but the bottom of the net. It marked the second time
New Haven lost a game this year at the buzzer.
The winner came following a
Franklin Pierce timeout, which the Ravens were forced to call when
Justin Exum put the Chargers up by one with a mid-range jumper at
the other end of the court. Exum thought he had knocked down the
winner just moments after junior forward Ryen Vilmont
(Philadelphia, Pa.) converted a pair of free throws to
give the Ravens a 67-66 edge.
Sophomore guard Tyler
Iacuone (Mahopac, N.Y.) got the wild, final 73 seconds
started with his fourth three of the game, as he netted a key 12
points in a reserve role for Franklin Pierce.
Senior forward Adrianos
Vourliotakis Perdikaris (Cholargos, Athens) was Franklin
Pierce's other double-figure scorer, as he logged a
double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds.
The last-second finish was a
fitting end to a game that saw the final stats for both sides
nearly identical in almost every category. Both teams shot around
45 percent from the floor, each collected 36 rebounds, turned it
over just six times, and only went to the foul line around
10-12 times.
Cooper had seven rebounds to go
with his game-high point total, while Vilmont had nine points and
nine boards for the game.
Jeffery Adkins equaled Cooper with
22 points for New Haven. His layup in the waning seconds of the
first half gave the Chargers a double-digit advantage at 39-28. He
hit back-to-back layups early in the second half to key a 10-2 run
by UNH, as the Chargers worked their way out to a 50-42 lead with
14:48 left in the game.
Franklin Pierce didn't flinch
and slowly crept its way back into it thanks to a layup and dunk
back-to-back by Cooper. Vourliotakis hit a pair of free throws and
a layup on consecutive possessions moments later to pull the Ravens
to within two. However, the Ravens could not knot the score or take
the lead until 1:13 left when Iacuone rained in the go-ahead
three.
Exum finished with 11 points, while
Eric Anderson was New Haven's other double-digit scorer as he
added 16.
Franklin Pierce returns to action
Wednesday when the Ravens travel to take on Pace at 7:30 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(.)
