NE-10 TOURNAMENT: #6 Le Moyne Cruises Past #11 Franklin Pierce, 73-53
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Slow start too much for Ravens to overcome as Dolphins advance to quarterfinals
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (February 28, 2009) - Sixth-seeded Le Moyne College built a 23-point lead by halftime and never looked back in posting a 73-53 victory over 11th-seeded Franklin Pierce University in first round action of the 2009 Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball championships at Ted Grant Court this afternoon.
Le Moyne (18-10, 13-9 NE-10), winners of nine-straight and 11 of 12, advances to Monday's quarterfinal round of the NE-10 Tournament and will visit third-seeded Stonehill College (21-6, 16-6 NE-10) at 7 p.m. The Skyhawks earned a first round bye in the tournament. The NE-10 Tournament continues with semifinal round action on Thursday (7 p.m.) with the NE-10 Championship and Conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament awarded next Saturday at 1 p.m. Franklin Pierce, which was making its 32nd postseason appearance in the last 33 years, sees its season come to a close at 11-17, including an 8-14 mark in the NE-10.
Sophomore Kevin Roth (Lake View, N.Y./St. Francis) led a balanced Le Moyne effort with a game-high 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field, converting 2-of-3 free-throw attempts, to go with seven rebounds, four assists, a blocked shot and a steal. Junior forward Laurence Ekperigin (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Walter Panas), named the NE-10 Player of the Year yesterday, finished with 12 points, on 6-of-9 shooting, four rebounds, four blocks and two steals in 21 minutes of play.
Freshman Christopher Johnson (Lindenhurst, N.Y./Lindenhurst) came off the bench to add ten points, five rebounds and two steals, while junior Damani Corbin (Brooklyn, N.Y./Frederick Douglass) also posted ten points to go with five assists and four steals. Senior Phil Barnes (Georgetown, Cayman Islands) chipped in nine points and seven boards.
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Junior Jack Barrett (Reading, Mass./Andover) and sophomore Jeff Manchester (Gorham, Maine/Gorham) each finished with 12 points to lead Franklin Pierce. Barrett made 4-of-6 shots from the field, including 4-for-5 from three-point range, to go with three assists, while Manchester contributed three rebounds. Junior Terrell Ray (Brooklyn, N.Y./Fort Hamilton) grabbed a career-best ten rebounds (seven offensive) to go with seven points and two assists.
Le Moyne finished shooting 49.2-percent (29-for-59) from the field after hitting at 51.5% (17-33) in the first half. Franklin Pierce shot 31.3-percent (20-for-64) from the floor, but just 21.9% (7-32) in the opening 20 minutes, including 1-for-10 (10%) from beyond the arc. The Dolphins posted an 18-8 advantage in points off turnovers, but the Ravens did notch a 43-39 rebounding advantage. Franklin Pierce also struggled at the free-throw line, making just 5-of-12 (41.7%) attempts.
Le Moyne never trailed and built a double-digit lead (17-7) by the midway point of the first half after the Dolphins scored seven-straight points, sparked by an Ekperigin dunk and Johnson three-pointer. The 7-0 spurt was part of an overall 16-2 run that put the Dolphins up 17 (26-9) after a Barnes layup with 8:20 left in the first half. Corbin converted a conventional three-point play to put the hosts up 25 (41-16) with 1:54 left before the intermission before they settled for the 23-point (41-18) halftime margin.
The final 20-point margin was as close as Franklin Pierce would get the rest of the way as Le Moyne extended its lead to 29 (58-29) after a jumper by junior Kevin Hassett (Phoenix, Ariz./Iona College) with 12:32 to play. The lead grew to as much as 30 (66-36) after a Barnes three with 7:47 remaining before the Ravens closed the gap to 20 at the end.