Men's Basketball Can't Hold Onto Late Lead; Falls Short in Overtime at New Haven
Manchester, Ray each go for over 20 points in tough setback
WEST HAVEN, Conn. (January 12, 2010) – The
Franklin Pierce University men’s basketball team could not
hold onto a late lead and dropped a tough 72-71 overtime decision
at New Haven on Tuesday night. The Ravens, who were playing their
second overtime game in the last three contests, dipped to 6-8
overall and 2-8 in the Northeast-10. UNH improved to 2-12 and 2-8
in league play.
Junior guard Jeff Manchester (Gorham, Maine) shot
8-of-12 from the field, including 6-of-9 from behind the arc, to
lead the team with 23 points. Senior forward Terrell Ray
(Brooklyn, N.Y.) was a strong 9-of-11 shooting from the
floor and tossed in 20 points, while pulling down seven
rebounds.
Junior guard Kinard Dozier (Dedham, Mass.) had
seven points and seven boards, while reigning NE-10 Rookie of the
Week Eric Jean-Guillaume (Stamford, Conn.) totaled
four points, seven rebounds, five assists, one steal and a block.
Franklin Pierce shot a solid 47 percent (30-of-64) from the floor
for the game.
Cassius Chaney paced New Haven with a double-double of 22 points
and 16 rebounds, while Kelvin Jackson came off the bench to net 17
points.
Neither team scored much in the extra session. Jeremy Williams
broke the 67-67 deadlock 20 seconds into overtime with a trey to
put the Chargers up by three at 70-67.
Ray hit a free throw a little more than two minutes later for the
game’s next point as it pulled the Ravens within two.
Manchester buried a three of his own moments later and the Ravens
held a 71-70 edge with just 38 seconds left.
However, Jackson threw down a dunk for UNH with only seconds
remaining, which proved to be the game-winning basket.
Jean-Guillaume launched a three as time expired, but it missed the
mark, thus giving the Chargers the narrow victory.
Franklin Pierce shot 47 percent (16-of-34) from the floor in the
first half and took a 37-29 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Manchester tossed in 11 points in the opening 20 minutes, while Ray
added nine.
The Ravens continued to add to their lead in the opening minutes of
the second half and held a 45-33 advantage following a layup from
Ray.
However, New Haven rallied by scoring 11 of the game’s next
15 points to get within five at 49-44 with 12:48 to go. Chaney
sparked the surge with a three-pointer.
Franklin Pierce continued to hold a slim lead and gradually added
to it. Freshman guard Curtis Christian (Harlem,
N.Y.) knocked down a triple with 4:50 remaining to extend
the Ravens advantage to 65-57.
Again, UNH rallied, this time closing out the final 4:50 on a 10-2
run to knot the game at 67 and send it into overtime. Chaney
sparked the run with a three and Kingsley Aguh capped it with a
tying layup at the 1:04 mark. Neither team could score the rest of
the way, thus sending the game into an extra five minutes.
Franklin Pierce was looking to capture its third-straight road win
following its return from the holiday break. The Ravens won at
Southern New Hampshire back on Jan. 2, and then pulled out an 80-72
overtime win at Pace last Wednesday.
The Ravens return to action on Thursday night when they travel back
to the state of Connecticut to face Post at 7:30 p.m. The two teams
will be meeting for the second time this season as Franklin Pierce
won the earlier matchup back on Nov. 18 in Rindge, 88-81, as the
Ravens overcame a 17-point deficit to pull out the win.
For more information on Franklin Pierce men’s basketball,
please visit the team’s page at
athletics.franklinpierce.edu(.)