Eighth-seeded Ravens host first postseason contest in six years on Saturday

RINDGE, N.H. (February 22, 2007) - Postseason men's basketball returns to the Franklin Pierce Fieldhouse for the first time since February, 2001 when the eighth-seeded Ravens host ninth-seeded Saint Anselm College in first round action of the 2007 Northeast-10 Conference Men's Basketball Championship, presented by Anaconda Sports, on Saturday at 2 p.m.

Admission to the game will be six-dollars ($6) for adults and three-dollars ($3) for students, senior citizens and children. Franklin Pierce students with ID present at the door will be admitted free of charge, courtesy of the athletics department.

Franklin Pierce (13-13, 11-11 NE-10) hosts a first round game for the first time since its inaugural Northeast-10 Conference campaign in 2000-01. That year, the sixth-seeded Ravens opened with a 73-72 victory over 11^th-seeded American International College beginning a march to the semifinal round.

Franklin Pierce's quarterfinal round opponent in 2001 was none other than Saturday's opposition, Saint Anselm (14-13, 10-12 NE-10). The Ravens claimed an impressive 89-76 victory over the then third-seeded Hawks to earn a quarterfinal round upset in their only previous NE-10 Tournament encounter. The late Kevin Scott (who succumbed to cancer in August, 2005) led Franklin Pierce past the 14^th-ranked Hawks with a career-best 37 points to go with ten rebounds and three blocked shots that night. Michael Dunn led Saint Anselm with 24 points.           

Much like the senior leadership provided that year by All-Region point guard Donald Johnson, senior Darryl Minnifield (Boston, Mass./Brookline) leads the way for Franklin Pierce this season. Minnifield, the first guard in program history to reach the 500-rebound plateau for his career is averaging 14.2 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.2 steals per game this season. Sophomore sharpshooter Timothy Munch (Blauvelt, N.Y./Storm King Prep) is averaging a team-best 14.7 points and 1.7 steals to go with 4.6 rebounds per game. Senior Sean Mayo (Saco, Maine/Thornton Academy) contributes 10.8 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.3 blocked shots per contest.

Junior Chris Vetrano (Andover, Mass./Andover), a transfer from Division I New Hampshire, leads Saint Anselm with 16.5 points per game to go with 2.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.3 steals. He shoots 40.5-percent (90-of-222) from three-point range and converts 85.9% (67-78) of his free-throw attempts. Classmate Junior Mitchell (Brooklyn, N.Y./Xavarian) is averaging 10.5 points and 3.0 rebounds, while shooting 38.7% (63-163) from beyond the arc. Freshman Giovanni Carenza (East Hanover, N.J./St. Anthony's) contributes 10.5 points and 6.8 rebounds, shooting 84.4% (65-77) from the free-throw line.

Franklin Pierce ranks fifth in the Northeast-10 in scoring defense (67.0 ppg) and 13^th in scoring offense (67.5 ppg), while Saint Anselm is sixth in both scoring offense (70.8 ppg) and defense (69.7 ppg).           

Saturday will mark the 37^th meeting all-time between the two programs, the third in postseason play and second in the NE-10 Tournament. Saint Anselm holds a 25-11 advantage in the all-time series and the two clubs have split the two previous postseason encounters, including Franklin Pierce's NE-10 Tournament victory in 2001. The teams split the regular season series between the two with each winning on their home courts. The Hawks notched a 76-73 victory in Goffstown on December 30, while the Ravens collected a 62-61 triumph just two weeks ago in the Fieldhouse on a Minnifield jumper with 1.6-seconds to play.

Munch averaged 16 points, hitting 5-of-10 (50%) three-point attempts, over the two games between the schools this season for Franklin Pierce. Minnifield averaged 15.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, two blocks and a steal over the two games, shooting 56.5% (13-23) from the field. Mitchell led the Hawks over the two games with 16 points, three rebounds and two steals per game, shooting 8-for-16 (50%) from three-point land. Carenza averaged 14 points and eight rebounds over the two contests.

The winner of Saturday's matchup will advance to Monday's quarterfinal round to face top-seeded and No. 2-ranked Bentley College (26-0, 22-0 NE-10), runaway winners of the NE-10 regular season title, at 7 p.m. The semifinal round is slated for Thursday, March 1, at 7 p.m., with the NE-10 Tournament Champion, and the Conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, being crowned on Saturday, March 3, at 1 p.m.

All Northeast-10 Tournament contests are available on a pay-per-view basis ($6.99 ea) via www.ne-10.tv. Special tournament packages are available through the site. All Franklin Pierce contests will also be broadcast via WFPC-LP 105.3 FM and simulcast via the athletics website at www.franklinpierce.edu /athletics, with pregame coverage starting approximately 10 minutes before tip-off.

2007 Northeast-10 Conference
Men's Basketball Championship
presented by Anaconda Sports

Saturday, February 24
First Round (Campus sites)
Game 1: #12 Merrimack (8-19, 7-15 NE-10) at #5 American International (15-12, 13-9 NE-10), 2 p.m.
Game 2: #11 Assumption (11-16, 9-13 NE-10) at #6 Saint Michael's (15-12, 13-9 NE-10), 1 p.m.
Game 3: #10 Le Moyne (13-14, 10-12 NE-10) at #7 Stonehill (16-11, 11-11 NE-10), 2 p.m.
Game 4: #9 Saint Anselm (14-13, 10-12 NE-10) at #8 Franklin Pierce (13-13, 11-11 NE-10), 2 p.m.

Monday, February 26
Quarterfinal Round (Campus Sites)
Game 5: Game 1 winner at #4 Bryant (18-9, 14-8 NE-10), 7 p.m.
Game 6: Game 2 winner at #3 Saint Rose (19-8, 15-7 NE-10), 7 p.m.
Game 7: Game 3 winner at #2 Pace (19-11, 15-7 NE-10), 7 p.m.
Game 8: Game 4 winner at #1 Bentley (26-0, 22-0 NE-10), 7 p.m.

Thursday, March 1
Semifinal Round (at higher seeds)
Game 9: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 7 p.m.
Game 10: Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 winner, 7 p.m.

Saturday, March 3
Championship (at higher seed)
Semifinal winners, 1 p.m.