Terrell Ray totals 24 points and nine rebounds; Kinard Dozier adds 15 points and seven assists

BOXSCORE

RINDGE, N.H. (February 6, 2010) - The Franklin Pierce University men's basketball team snapped a two-game losing skid on Saturday afternoon with a 69-58 win over Southern New Hampshire in The Fieldhouse in Rindge. The Ravens, who improved to 10-12 overall and 5-12 in the Northeast-10, swept the two-game regular season series from the Penmen (13-9, 8-9 NE-10). Franklin Pierce also picked up an 83-77 win over SNHU back on Jan. 2 in Manchester. That win also snapped a losing streak for the Ravens, who entered the game on a six-game skid.

Senior forward Terrell Ray (Brooklyn, N.Y.) led Franklin Pierce on this afternoon with 24 points and nine rebounds on 9-of-11 shooting from the field. It marked the second strong performance for Ray versus the Penmen this season, as he had 18 points and eight boards in the first meeting.

Junior guard Kinard Dozier (Dedham, Mass.), who was named to the NE-10 Weekly Honor Roll this past Monday, followed with 15 points, five rebounds and a game-high seven assists. Dozier was just three assists shy of his second double-double for the week, as he tallied 13 points and 12 rebounds in Wednesday's contest at Stonehill.

Senior guard Marcus Wellman (Monroe, Conn.) shot a respectable 3-of-6 from behind the arc and had nine points and five boards, while freshman backcourt-mate Eric Jean-Guillaume (Stamford, Conn.) chipped in with eight points.

Tory Stapleton had a team-best 14 points for Southern New Hampshire and Stephen Wood was next with 12 points.

The Ravens shot a solid 47 percent (23-of-49) from the floor, including 45 percent (9-of-20) from three-point range. They also held a 36-28 advantage in rebounding.

Franklin Pierce raced out of the gates and scored the first 15 points of the contest. Ray pumped in the initial five points, while Dozier and Jean-Guillaume threw in consecutive treys to aid in it.

After SNHU finally got on the board with a basket, Ravens freshman guard Curtis Christian (Harlem, N.Y.) responded with a triple of his own to make 18-2 with 14:30 left in the half.

The Penmen made a few brief rallies and whittled their deficit to 10 points on two occasions. However, Franklin Pierce would find an answer and built a 45-30 lead heading into the locker room at halftime. Ray, who had 18 points in the opening 20 minutes, capped the Ravens impressive first half with a layup near the half's final buzzer.

The Ravens led by as many as 18 points in the opening minutes of the second half, but that comfortable lead was short-lived as SNHU stormed back to make it a game.

Trailing 63-45 with 8:11 remaining, Southern New Hampshire mounted a furious rally, including going on a 13-1 run to pull within 64-58 with a little over three minutes left. Cory Vejraska helped aid the run with four-straight points late.

SNHU forced a turnover immediately following their run, but Stapleton could not convert a layup on the other end. Dozier swooped in for the rebound and was immediately fouled, sending him to the free throw line with just 1:16 left. He made both free throws to stem the tide, and following another SNHU miss at the other end of the court, Ray laid in a basket to put the game out of reach at 68-58. Ray also made one more free throw late to round out the scoring and seal the win for the Ravens.

Franklin Pierce returns to action Tuesday night when it plays host to Saint Michael's at 7:30 p.m. in The Fieldhouse in Rindge. Fans who cannot attend the game can follow it online via audio, video and/or live stats through the team's page at athletics.franklinpierce.edu(.)