17-2 second half run sparks Ravens; Hunt nets 26 points and posts double-double

SMITHFIELD, R.I. (March 1, 2003) - Ninth-seeded Franklin Pierce used a 17-2 run midway through the second half to rally from as much as an 11-point deficit early in the stanza to key a 74-70 upset of eighth-seeded Bryant College in first round action of the 2003 Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball tournament at the Bryant Athletics & Recreation Center this afternoon.

Franklin Pierce (14-14) advances to face top-seeded and No. 9-ranked University of Massachusetts Lowell (22-4, 18-4 NE-10) on Monday night in Lowell, Mass., at 7 p.m. Bryant (17-14) now awaits a possible ECAC Division II Tournament bid.

Junior swingman Jimmie Hunt (Utica, N.Y./Mount Ararat (Maine)) led the way for Franklin Pierce with his second career double-double as he netted 26 points on 11-of-18 shooting from the field, including 4-6 from three-point range, to go with a career-high matching ten rebounds and three assists. Hunt kept the Ravens close in the first half with 16 points, including 13 of their 15 over the final 6:26 of the stanza, and he also buried a three-pointer to open their second half scoring.

Junior Derek Rodgerson (Newburgh, Maine/Hampden Academy) added 11 points and two steals, while freshman Justin Powell (Brookline, Mass./Brookline) chipped in ten points and four boards. Senior Sharod Campbell (Dorchester, Mass./Boston English) weighed in with nine key points.

Junior Jason Noel led Bryant with 26 points on ten-of-15 shooting from the floor an 12 rebounds. Senior Jon Wallace totaled 18 points and four boards, while sophomore Mike Williams chipped in 14 points and four rebounds.

Franklin Pierce trailed by 11 points (44-33) after a driving lay-up by Wallace 1:03 into the second half. The Ravens then got a pair of three-pointers from senior Allister Gall (Plymouth, England) to spark a 17-2 run over a five-minute span that not only gave Franklin Pierce its first lead of the game, but extended it to eight points (58-50) after a Rodgerson jumper with 8:17 remaining in regulation. Powell chipped in four points in the rally, while senior Zvonko Ilic (Nis, Yugoslavia) canned a three-pointer.

Bryant would make it interesting down the stretch after a driving layup by Rodgerson gave Franklin Pierce a seven-point cushion with 1:49 left in regulation. Noel hit a put-back on the Bulldogs next possession, then Williams hit a lay-in between missed front-ends by the Ravens before freshman John Williams hit two free-throws to bring Bryant within a point with 19.7-seconds remaining.

After Rodgerson canned one-of-two on the other end with 18.3 ticks left, Bryant had the last possession with a chance to win or extend the game into overtime, but Campbell forced a turnover in the paint and senior Tom Waterman (Bangor, Maine/Bangor) corralled it and sunk two free-throws to ice the victory.

"It was absolutely a team effort," said Franklin Pierce head coachDavid Chadbourne after the game. "I like that it looked bad for us, then we were able to come through on the road and win. Our seniors really did a great job for us and Jimmie showed he may be the best player in the Conference."

"We just played better defense in the second half," Hunt said of the difference in the game. "Everyone knows we can score, we just needed to focus on limiting second shots and playing better D."

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