Ravens ready for 27th-straight postseason appearance

RINDGE, N.H. (February 25, 2004) - Tenth-seeded Franklin Pierce will face No. 7-seeded College of Saint Rose in first round action of the 2004 Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball tournament on Saturday at 2 p.m. The game will be played at Sage College of Albany due to continued renovations being made to Saint Rose's home facility.

While most of the NE-10 Tournament field was determined during last night's regularly-scheduled season finales, the No. 2 through 5 seeds are pending the result of Thursday's makeup game between Southern New Hampshire University and Stonehill College.

Saturday will mark the 16^th meeting all-time between these two programs and the second in postseason play with both coming in the first round of the NE-10 Tournament. Franklin Pierce holds an 8-7 lead in the all-time series, but Saint Rose won the previous postseason encounter with a 79-78 overtime victory in Albany in the first round of the 2002 NE-10 Tournament.

Current senior Jesse Cort (Red Hook, N.Y./Red Hook) led a Saint Rose rally from seven points down with 3:33 left in regulation with two three-pointers in the final 1:05 and added a third in the extra period which proved to be the winning shot with 27-seconds to play. He finished with 19 points, aided by a three-for six effort from three-point range, seven rebounds (three offensive) and four assists. Phil Sellers netted a game-high 26 points, aided by a 10-13 effort at the free-throw line, six rebounds (five offensive) and five steals for the Golden Knights. Alfonso Payneled Franklin Pierce with a career-high 21 points as he drained 4-7 three-point attempts to go along with seven rebounds (three offensive) in his final collegiate game.            

The Golden Knights claimed a 92-83 victory over the Ravens in their only regular season encounter of the 2003-04 season at the Franklin Pierce Fieldhouse. Then No. 21-ranked Saint Rose and Franklin Pierce combined for nearly 150 shots from the field, including 56 from three-point range, however the Golden Knights connected on 54.7-percent (35-64) of their field goal attempts, including 12-25 (48%) from three-point range, while the Ravens shot just 41% (34-83) from the field, 22.6% (7-31) from long-distance.

Sophomore guard Brad Shove (Pittsfield, Mass./Pittsfield) led all scorers with 27 points as he drained 9-16 shots from the field, including 7-11 from downtown, to go with three rebounds and three assists to lead Saint Rose. Junior Kyl Jones (Elmsford, N.Y./Pleasantville) hit 7-9 shots from the floor, including 3-4 from three-point range, and canned both free-throw attempts for 19 points to go with five rebounds and a pair of blocks.

Senior preseason All-American Jimmie Hunt (Utica, N.Y./Mount Ararat (Maine)) led Franklin Pierce with 24 points as he hit 9-17 shots from the field to go with four boards. Classmate Derek Rodgerson (Newburgh, Maine/Hampden Academy) totaled 15 points (12 second half), while five-foot, 11-inch, freshman point guard Darryl Minifield (Brookline, Mass./Brookline) led the Ravens in rebounding for the fifth time, finishing with a game and then season-best 11 boards (five offensive) to go with six points, three assists and three steals.

Franklin Pierce enters the postseason on a bit of a roll having won seven of its last ten. Hunt has led the Ravens down the stretch as their leading scorer in five-straight and 12 of their last 14 games. The preseason All-American is averaging 17.2 points (7^th NE-10), 6.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game this season. Hunt is shooting 43.3-percent (140-323) from the field, including 41.3% (64-155), and converting 85.2% (121-142) of his free-throw attempts, which ranks fourth in the NE-10.

Rodgerson is averaging 15 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.4 steals per game. He is shooting 44.1% (146-331) from the field, including a team-best 44% (62-141) from long-distance (8^th NE-10), to go with a Conference-best 91.1% (51-56) from the line. Sophomore Justin Powell (Brookline, Mass./Brookline) is adding 8.2 points and 4.3 rebounds per contest.

Minifield has made an immediate impact for the Ravens in his first collegiate season, averaging seven points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists and and team-best 1.5 steals per game. Since joining the starting lineup after the holiday break, he is averaging a team-best 5.9 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.7 steals to go with 8.6 points over that 20-game span.

Saint Rose enters the NE-10 Tournament winners of three-straight after it had dropped it previous three games. The Golden Knights opened the season winners of ten of its first 11.

Shove leads four Saint Rose players averaging double-figures in scoring at 13.4 points per game to go with four rebounds and 2.3 assists per contest. Junior guard Terry George (Buffalo, N.Y./Buffalo Traditional) is adding 13.1 points and 4.6 rebounds per game and is shooting 56.9% (136-239) from the field (5^th NE-10). Classmate Adonist Barber (Schenectady, N.Y./Schenectady) is averaging 12.5 points, aided by 58.9% (142-241) shooting from the field (2^nd), and 7.4 rebounds (6^th) per outing. Cort rounds out the double-digit scorers with 12 points, 7.3 rebounds (8^th), 2.6 assists and 1.6 steals per outing.

The winner of Saturday's game will face the No. 2 seed on the road, which could be either Southern New Hampshire or Bentley College pending Thursday's game, on Monday, March 1, at 7 p.m. All Franklin Pierce postseason games will be broadcast live on WFPC-LP 105.3 FM and simulcast over the internet at www.franklinpierce.edu /athletics. 

2004 Northeast-10 Conference 
Men's Basketball Tournament  

February 28
Northeast-10 Tournament First Round
- All Games at 2 p.m.
Game 1: #12 AIC at #5 Bryant
Game 2: #11 Assumption at #6 Saint Anselm
Game 3: #10 Franklin Pierce at #7 Saint Rose
Game 4: #9 Merrimack at #8 Pace

March 1
Northeast-10 Tournament Quarterfinals
- All games at 7 p.m.
Game 5: Game 1 Winner at #4 Le Moyne
Game 6: Game 2 Winner at #3 Bentley
Game 7: Game 3 Winner at #2 Southern New Hampshire
Game 8: Game 4 Winner at #1 UMass Lowell

March 4
Northeast-10 Tournament Semifinals
- at site of highest remaining quarterfinal seed.
Game 9: Game 6 Winner vs. Game 7 Winner, 7 p.m.
Game 10: Game 5 Winner vs. Game 8 Winner, 7 p.m.

March 6
Northeast-10 Tournament Championship
- at site of highest remaining seed.
Game 11: Semifinal Winners, 1 p.m