UMass Lowell Edges Franklin Pierce in OT, 74-70
Moragne and Whyte lead River Hawks to tough win
LOWELL, Mass. (February 21, 2005) - The University of Massachusetts Lowell rallied from three-points down with 2:40 to play in regulation to force overtime and out-scored Franklin Pierce 7-1 at the free-throw line in the extra period to collect a 74-70 victory in Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball action at Costello Gymnasium tonight.
Both teams return to action for first round action of the Northeast-10 Conference Tournament on Saturday. Seventh-seeded UMass Lowell (18-9, 14-8 NE-10) hosts tenth seeded Merrimack College (13-14, 9-13 NE-10) at 2 p.m. 11th-seeded Franklin Pierce (9-18, 7-15 NE-10) visits sixth-seeded Bryant University (19-7, 15-7 NE-10) also at 2p.m.
Junior Stacey Moragne (Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township) led the River Hawks with 24 points (13 first half) on eight-of-16 shooting from the field, including 2-3 from three-point range, to go with a 6-8 effort at the line, eight rebounds and two assists. Senior James Whyte (Vancouver, British Columbia) added 19 points, three rebounds, three steals and two blocks, while junior Carl Benn (Far Rockaway, N.Y./Lawrence Woodmere Academy) registered 14 points, seven boards, three assists and two steals.
Junior Justin Powell (Brookline, Mass./Brookline) led Franklin Pierce with 23 points (one shy of his career-high), five rebounds, four assists and two blocks. He hit 8-of-12 from the floor and canned 6-7 free-throw attempts. Classmate Pierre Sully (Jamaica Plain, Mass./North Cambridge Catholic) totaled 19 points on 9-16 shooting from the field, six rebounds, three assists and three steals. Sophomore Darryl Minnifield (Boston, Mass./Brookline) registered 11 points, five boards, three assists and three steals.
The Ravens led by as much as seven (32-25) after a Powell three-pointer with 4:15 to play in the first half, but settled for a three-point lead (38-35) at the break. Trailing by five (42-37) after a Sully lay-up 2:29 into the second half, UMass Lowell posted a 16-6 run to open a five-point lead (53-48) after a Wesley Platt (Jamaica Plain, Mass./North Cambridge Catholic) three with 12:29 to play.
A 7-0 Franklin Pierce run gave the Ravens a three-point lead (59-56) after a Sully lay-up with 6:01 left. The River Hawks used a 5-0 spurt to take a two-point lead (63-61) with 1:32 left on a Benn lay-up. Sully hit a runner to knot the score with 61-seconds left, but Benn missed a three with 33-seconds left to allow the Ravens a chance to win the game. However, Johnson missed a three-pointer at the buzzer.
UMass Lowell took charge in the extra session and opened a four-point lead (67-63) on a pair of Moragne free-throws 1:27 in. Powell converted a conventional three-point play to pull the Ravens within a point (71-70) with 57-seconds left, but after the Ravens failed to come up with a defensive rebound, they were forced to foul. Brandon Arnette (Lake Park, Fla./Tilton School) hit two free throws and the Ravens had a chance to tie, but a Nazim Senaldi (Istanbul, Turkey) three was off the mark to knot the score and Moragne hit one-of-two free throws to seal the win.