Ravens use 65.4-percent shooting effort in first half to fly past Owls

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (January 12, 2002) - Franklin Pierce posted a 20-point lead at the half after leading by as many as 26 points as it cruised to an 82-50 victory over Southern Connecticut State University in Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball action at the Moore Fieldhouse this afternoon.

After Southern netted the game's first basket, Franklin Pierce reeled off an 11-0 run as junior V.J. Kwity (Torrance, Calif./West) scored five points and senior Kevin Scott (Mississauga, Ontario/Iona Catholic) netted four points and dished an assist.

Franklin Pierce followed that up with a 15-0 run midway through the first half to see its lead grow to 23 points (33-10) with 5:39 to play in the opening stanza. Scott was the spark behind that run, netting six more points.

After the lead grew to 26 points (38-12) with 4:07 left in the opening half, Southern trimmed the deficit to 20 points (41-21) at the half.

Franklin Pierce was fueled by a season-best 65.4-percent (17-26) shooting effort in the first half, including five-of-nine (55.6%) from three-point distance.

Southern netted the first two buckets of the second half, but any thoughts of an Owls comeback were silenced as Franklin Pierce out-scored them 29-8 over an eight-minute span midway through the half to build a 40-point lead (79-39) with 6:50 to play.

Kwity led all scorers with a season-high 25 points on 9-12 shooting from the field (3-5 three's) to go along with three steals. Sophomore Derek Rodgerson (Newburgh, Maine/Hampden Academy) also had a hot hand as he canned 7-10 from the field and 5-6 from long-distance for 20 points (14 first half) with two assists and two steals. Scott finished with 18 points, on 8-10 shooting, nine rebounds (snapping a string of four-straight double-doubles), and two blocks.

The Ravens held Southern standout David Grenade in check with 15 points and four rebounds. Senior Rob Doss chipped in eight points and six rebounds. Southern shot just 37.7% (20-53) from the field, including 32% (8-25) in the first half.

Franklin Pierce (8-6, 5-5 NE-10) looks to extend its season-long winning streak to four games when it travels to Pace University on Thursday at 7 p.m. Southern Connecticut (5-8, 3-7 NE-10) travels to Southern New Hampshire University on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.