Franklin Pierce Dispatches Bentley, 77-65
Hunt and Campbell lead Ravens to upset victory of region's ninth-ranked team
RINDGE, N.H. (February 8, 2003) - Franklin Pierce jumped out to an early ten-point lead and never trailed again in claiming a 77-65 victory over Bentley College, ranked ninth in the Northeast Region, in Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball action at the Franklin Pierce Fieldhouse this afternoon.
Junior swingmanJimmie Hunt (Utica, N.Y./Mount Ararat (Maine)) led a balanced Franklin Pierce attack with 21 points, on eight-of-13 shooting from the field, six rebounds and six assists.
Senior Sharod Campbell (Dorchester, Mass./Boston English) was a force inside with 16 points, hitting 5-7 from the field to go with a 6-6 effort at the line, nine rebounds (six offensive), four assists, three steals and two blocks. Junior Derek Rodgerson (Newburgh, Maine/Hampden Academy) added 16 points and eight boards. Freshman Justin Powell (Brookline, Mass./Brookline) chipped in eight points, six rebounds (four offensive) and two blocks in just 14 minutes of action.
Freshman Tim Forbes led Bentley with a season-best 20 points as he hit 6-11 shots from the field, including 2-3 three-pointers, and canned all six free-throw attempts. He also totaled four rebounds and four assists. Senior Jeff Bishop added 15 points and eight rebounds (five offensive), while freshman Sean Cooke chipped in nine points and two steals.
Bentley held its only lead of the contest just 14-seconds in, on a Mike McNally lay-up, before Franklin Pierce reeled off a 14-2 run to take a double-digit advantage (14-4) by the 16:29-mark. Powell banged in three lay ups inside, while Hunt drained a pair of three-pointers during that stretch.
The Falcons trimmed their deficit to four points (38-34) with 2:12 left in the half after a Forbes three-pointer capped a 6-0 run over a 1:20-span. The Ravens lead was nine after a pair of Powell free-throws 55-seconds into the second half, but Bentley trimmed the lead to three-points (45-42) at the 16:53-mark after a Pat Lynch jumper.
Bentley trailed by just five points (54-49) with 12:51 on the clock before Franklin Pierce reeled off a 13-4 run over the next eight minutes to put the game out of reach (67-53) with 4:09 to play.
Franklin Pierce (11-12, 9-9 NE-10) returns to the hardwood on Tuesday when it visits Merrimack College for a key Conference battle at 7:30 p.m. Bentley (14-8, 10-7 NE-10) hosts Southern New Hampshire University onTuesday at 7:30 p.m.