Franklin Pierce Stymies Bryant, 70-61
Ravens earn 27th-straight postseason berth with victory
SMITHFIELD, R.I. (February 14, 2004) - Franklin Pierce clinched its 27th-straight postseason berth with a 70-61 victory over Bryant College in Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball action at the Chace Athletic Center this afternoon.
Franklin Pierce has now won four-straight games at the Chace Athletic Center dating back to a 74-70 victory over Bryant in the first round of the 2003 Northeast-10 Tournament, including a 3-0 clip this season which includes a pair of wins during Bryant's Christmas Tournament. The Ravens have advanced to the postseason every season since the 1977-78 campaign. The win is also the fourth this year for Franklin Pierce against the top three teams in the NE-10.
Senior preseason All-American Jimmie Hunt (Utica, N.Y./Mount Ararat (Maine)) led all scorers with 18 points as he hit six-of-nine from the field, including 2-2 from three-point range, and converted all four free-throw attempts. Hunt scored 14 of his 18 points in the first half, all coming in a seven-minute stretch, accounting for every Franklin Pierce point during that span. He also added a game-high nine rebounds (four offensive) for the Ravens.
Senior Derek Rodgerson (Newburgh, Maine/Hampden Academy) added 14 points, three rebounds and three assists, while freshman Darryl Minifield (Brookline, Mass./Brookline) chipped in 11 points, four boards and five assists. Classmate Nazim Senaldi (Istanbul, Turkey) netted nine points.
Senior forward Jason Noel (Berlin, Mass./Worcester Academy) led Bryant with 15 points (four second half) and nine rebounds. Junior Mario Correia (Brockton, Mass./Massasoit) added 13 points, while freshman Chris Burns (Merrimack, N.H./Providence) totaled 12 points and three assists. Junior Mike Williams (Ellington, Conn./Ellington) chipped in 11 points (ten second half) and three boards.
Franklin Pierce limited Bryant's leading scorer, Romuald Augustin (Montreal, Quebec), a senior transfer from Providence, to just five points, 15 less than his season average.
The Ravens finished shooting 46.3-percent (25-54) from the field for the contest, including a blistering 7-11 (63.6%) from three-point range. The Bulldogs shot just 22.2% (4-18) from three-point distance and 44% (22-50) for the game.
Bryant's only lead of the game came after a Correia lay-up 15-seconds into the contest. Franklin Pierce opened a 13-4 edge after an ally-oop dunk by Hunt from Minifield 7:55 into the tilt and led by ten (24-14) with 6:16 to play in the opening half.
Bryant closed to within five points (38-33) at the break, but the Ravens scored the first six points of the second half to take an 11-point advantage (44-33) with 17:42 to play.
An 8-3 Bulldog run, sparked by a Burns three-pointer, cut the Ravens lead to five points (56-51) with 8:58 to play. Franklin Pierce regained its ten point lead (62-52) after a pair of Minifield free-throws with 4:09 left, but Bryant again closed to within five points again (66-61) with 1:32 to play after two Williams free-throws.
Freshman Sean Mayo (Saco, Maine/Thornton Academy) scored a key tip-in and Burns committed a costly turnover, allowing the Ravens to ice the win with a pair of Marques Norris (Jamaica Plain, Mass./Benson (Ore.)) free throws with 11-seconds to play.
Franklin Pierce (12-12, 9-11 NE-10) returns to action on Monday night for a non-conference battle with Saint Joseph's College (Maine) at 7 p.m. Bryant (18-6, 13-6 NE-10) visits Southern New Hampshire University Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.