Franklin Pierce Turns Back Saint Michael’s, 86-83
Ravens clinch home court for first round of NE-10 Tournament
RINDGE, N.H. (February 20, 2007) - Franklin Pierce clinched home court advantage in the opening round of the upcoming Northeast-10 Conference Tournament with an 86-83 victory over Saint Michael's College in NE-10 men's basketball action at the Fieldhouse tonight.
Franklin Pierce (13-13, 11-11 NE-10) finishes the regular season in a seventh-place tie with Stonehill College in the NE-10 standings. The eighth-seeded Ravens (as result of the tiebreaker with Stonehill) will host ninth-seeded Saint Anselm College (14-13, 10-12 NE-10) in a first round contest on Saturday at 2 p.m. Saint Michael's (15-12, 12-10 NE-10) has earned the sixth seed and will host 11th-seeded Assumption College (11-16, 9-13 NE-10) on Saturday at 2 p.m.
Franklin Pierce does have one final regular season contest on the slate as the Ravens visit Concordia (N.Y.) College in a non-conference clash on Thursday at 7 p.m.
Senior Darryl Minnifield (Boston, Mass./Brookline) led the way for Franklin Pierce with his second double-double of the season (third career) as he netted 18 points (14 second half), hitting 6-of-11 shots from the field, including 2-4 from three-point range, to go with ten rebounds (four offensive) and four assists. Sophomore Rimas Varanauskas (Kaunas, Lithuania) added a career-best 18 points, hitting 6-10 shots from the field and converting 6-8 free-throws, in 21 minutes off the bench to go with eight rebounds and three blocked shots.
Sophomore Timothy Munch (Blauvelt, N.Y./Storm King Prep) contributed 16 points and seven rebounds, while classmate Jack Barrett (Reading, Mass./Andover) chipped in ten points, six assists and two rebounds.
Senior Brendan Mullins (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove South) led Saint Michael's with 26 points (19 second half), aided by a perfect 10-for-10 shooting effort at the free-throw line, and four rebounds. Junior James Sorrentine (Pawtucket, R.I./Saint Raphael Academy) totaled 18 points, draining 6-of-10 three-pointers, and four assists, while classmate Brian Monahan (Kinderhook, N.Y./Christian Brothers Academy) contributed 12 points, shooting 6-9 from the field. Sophomore Jon Zylstra (Uxbridge, Mass./Whitinsville Christian) chipped in ten points and six rebounds in 11 minutes off the bench, while senior Chris Cayole (Burlington, Vt./Rice Memorial) grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds.
Franklin Pierce hit 47.5-percent (29-of-61) of its shots from the field, including 9-of-18 (50%) from three-point range. The Ravens shot 51.7% (15-29) from the floor in the second half, draining 5-9 (55.6%) three's. Saint Michael's shot 46.8% (29-62) from the field overall, including 51.5% (17-33) in the second half, and converted 15-of-16 (93.8%) free-throw attempts.
Saint Michael's jumped out to a quick six-point lead (16-10) just over five minutes into the contest, sparked by a trio of three-pointers from Sorrentine. Franklin Pierce answered with a 19-2 run over the next five minutes to race to an 11-point lead (29-18) after Munch put back his own miss with 9:37 left in the opening half. Freshman Marcus Wellman (Monroe, Conn./Hamden Hall) hit a pair of three's and Munch added a third to spark the run.
Saint Michael's closed the gap to five at the break (34-29) and closed within two (40-38) after a Mullins jumper 4:14 into the second half. Leading by three (45-42) with 13:32 left, Franklin Pierce used a 14-4 run to open a game-high 13-point bulge (59-46) after a Munch three with 9:19 on the clock. Munch hit two three's and Minnifield and senior Sean Mayo (Saco, Maine/Thornton Academy) also connected from long-distance during that stretch.
The Ravens lead was ten (71-61) after a Wellman layup with 3:40 to go, but Saint Michael's had one last run left in it. Sorrentine drained a three to pull the Purple Knights within five (76-71) with 1:24 to go and the Ravens lead was just four after a pair of Mullins free-throws with 1:06 to play.
Franklin Pierce hit four of six free-throws in a 16-second span in the final minute to regain an eight point advantage (83-75) with 13-seconds to play, but Saint Michael's still drew within a point (84-83) after a Mullins three after the Ravens missed three of their next four free-throws. However, just 0.7-seconds remained and when the Purple Knights called a timeout they didn't have, Munch iced the game with two free-throws on the technical foul.