American International Halts Franklin Pierce, 72-67
Huggins nets 22 second-half points as Yellow Jackets halt Ravens win streak
RINDGE, N.H. (February 4, 2006) - Franklin Pierce stumbled to just its fourth loss in 14 games since Christmas, suffering a 72-67 setback to American International College in Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball action at the Fieldhouse this afternoon.
Franklin Pierce, which saw its first five-game winning streak since midway through the 1999-2000 season come to an end, finished shooting just 36.2-percent (25-69) from the field despite draining 9-of-17 (52.9%) from three-point range. The Ravens led by three at the break (37-34) after shooting 46.7% (14-30) from the field (7-10 three's) in the opening 20 minutes, but were 11-39 (28.2%) from the floor in the second half.
Senior John Huggins (Philadelphia, Pa./Roman Catholic) led AIC's comeback, scoring 22 of his game-high 26 points after the intermission, adding two steals. Junior Jenar Harrison (Queens, N.Y./Broward CC) notched a double-double with 15 points, hitting 6-of-10 from the field, ten rebounds (four offensive), five blocks and two steals. Senior Dexter Gregory (Paterson, N.J./Cheyney) added nine points, a game-high 13 rebounds, four blocks and two steals, while classmate Alonzo Brown (New York, N.Y./Frederick Douglass Academy) chipped in ten points.
Junior Sean Mayo (Saco, Maine/Thornton Academy) led Franklin Pierce with 14 points, hitting 4-of-8 from the field (2-2 three's) and converting 4-5 free throws, to go with five rebounds and two blocks before fouling out. Senior Pierre Sully (Jamaica Plain, Mass./North Cambridge Catholic) added 12 points, five rebounds and two steals, while junior Darryl Minnifield (Boston, Mass./Brookline) scored ten first half points and grabbed a team-best six rebounds (three offensive).
The second half featured seven ties and seven lead changes after Franklin Pierce held a five point lead (42-37) after a pair of Mayo free-throws 3:04 into the second. Gregory forced the first tie of the stanza and gave the Yellow Jackets their first lead (43-42) with a pair at the stripe with 1:15 to play.
The lead seesawed over the next ten minutes before Huggins scored back-to-back lay-ups to put AIC up four (62-58) with 2:47 to play. The Yellow Jackets extended their lead to seven (67-60) after another Gregory free throw with 58-seconds to go and AIC hit 5-of-6 free-throws (four from Huggins) over the final 34-seconds to ice its second-straight win.
Franklin Pierce (13-8, 10-6 NE-10) is on the road Tuesday when it faces Bentley College in a key Conference battle at 7:30 p.m. American International (11-11, 7-10 NE-10) hosts No. 23 Saint Anselm College on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.