Dolphins fast start to second half seals Ravens fate

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (January 16, 2008) – Le Moyne College rolled to an 88-66 victory over Franklin Pierce University in Northeast-10 Conference men’s basketball action at Ted Grant Court tonight.

Le Moyne shot 51.9-percent (27-for-52) from the field, including 13-for-25 (52%) from three-point range, and enjoyed a 21-6 scoring advantage at the free-throw line. Franklin Pierce hit 44.4% (24-54) of its shots from the field, including 12-of-26 (46.2%) from beyond the arc, but made just 37.9% (11-29) from the field in the second half, including 5-14 (35.7%) from long distance.

Senior guard Jonathan Joshua (Inglewood, Calif./Porterville College) and sophomore Laurence Ekperigin (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Walter Penas) combined for 44 points for Le Moyne, while the remainder of the team chipped in with a balanced effort on offense. Joshua led all scorers with 25 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field, including 6-for-8 from three-point range, to go with five assists. Ekperigin posted a double-double effort of 19 points, aided by 11-of-13 shooting from the free-throw line, and a game-high 14 rebounds to go with two steals.

Freshman Kinard Dozier (Dedham, Mass./The Winchendon School) led four Franklin Pierce players in double-figures with a season-high 19 points (11 first half) as he hit 7-of-13 shots from the field, including 5-10 from three-point range, to go with three assists and two rebounds. Junior Rimas Varanauskas (Kaunas, Lithuania/The Winchendon School) finished with 14 points and a team-high four rebounds, while classmate Timothy Munch (Blauvelt, N.Y./Storm King Prep) added 12 points. Freshman Steve Ramos (Lynn, Mass./Hebron Academy) chipped in with 11 points, hitting 4-of-5 shots from the field, including 2-3 from beyond the arc, and two steals.

Both teams shot 50-percent or better in an up and down first half that featured four lead changes. However, Le Moyne went to the line 15 times, compared to two attempts for Franklin Pierce, and out-scored its guests 13-1 from the stripe in the half to take a 46-34 lead into the intermission.

The Dolphins came out firing in the second half, opening a 27-point lead (63-36) after an Ekperigin three-point play less than five minutes in to cap a 14-0 run. Le Moyne would extend its lead to 33 (77-44) with 10:19 to play and the final margin would be as close as Franklin Pierce would get the rest of the way.

Franklin Pierce (5-11, 1-10 NE-10) returns to action on Saturday when it hosts Stonehill College at 3:30 p.m. Le Moyne (9-8, 7-5 NE-10) hosts Bryant University on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.