Freshman guard Eric Jean-Guillaume leads team in scoring for second-straight game

BOXSCORE

RINDGE, N.H. (December 11, 2009) – The Franklin Pierce University men’s basketball team battled Stonehill tough Friday night, but came up on the short end of a tough 64-57 decision at The Fieldhouse in Rindge. The Ravens dropped to 4-5 overall and 0-5 in the Northeast-10, while Stonehill improved to 7-1 and 6-0 in the league, which is good enough for first place.

Freshman guard Eric Jean-Guillaume (Stamford, Conn.) tossed in a team-high 22 points for the Ravens, as he led the team in scoring for the second-straight game. He is averaging 20.0 points over his last two games. He also grabbed seven rebounds and swiped four steals in the contest.

Senior forward Terrell Ray (Brooklyn, N.Y.) was Franklin Pierce’s other double-digit scorer with 12 points. However, his string of four-straight double-doubles was snapped as he had just one rebound.

Both teams entered Friday’s contest as the top-two rebounding teams in the conference. The Ravens ranked first with an average of 46.0 boards a game, while Stonehill was second with a little over 40. The Skyhawks got the better of the rebounding battle in this contest as they out-rebounded Franklin Pierce by a count of 48-32.

The Ravens shot a respectable 40 percent (23-of-57) from the field, but Stonehill was stronger at 47 percent (25-of-53), including 63 percent in the second half.

Franklin Pierce held a 30-24 lead at halftime against the league’s top team, which had handed No. 6 Bentley a loss on Tuesday night. However, the Skyhawks came out strong in the opening minutes of the second half and went on a 17-5 run to grab a 41-35 advantage with 13:11 remaining. Daniel Heppert scored five-consecutive points to aid the surge for Stonehill.

The teams would trade baskets over the next several minutes, but the Ravens were able to trim the deficit to three at 49-46 with 6:19 left on a layup by Curtis Christian (Harlem, N.Y.).

Stonehill responded and scored eight of the game’s next 12 points to open up a 57-50 edge with 3:11 to go. The Skyhawks would extend their advantage out to double-digits at 63-52 with 1:26 to go after a breakaway dunk by A.J. Rudowitz.

The Ravens would not threaten the rest of the way as the Skyhawks won their seventh-straight.

Randall Stallworth pumped in a game-high 23 points for the Skyhawks, while Rudowitz followed with 15 points and eight boards.

The Ravens battled hard in the first half and took the six-point lead into the locker room at halftime. Jean-Guillaume tossed in nine points in the opening 20 minutes, while Jeff Manchester (Gorham, Maine) added seven. Kinard Dozier (Dedham, Mass.) and Ray each had six points in the opening frame.

Stallworth hit back-to-back free throws with 6:53 to go in the first half to give Stonehill a 22-17 lead, but the Ravens responded with strong play over the next four minutes. During that stretch, Franklin Pierce out-scored Stonehill, 11-0, to build a 28-22 lead. Jean-Guillaume ignited the run with a three-pointer and Dozier capped it with a trey of his own. The Ravens also held a 13-4 advantage in points in the paint in the first half.

Franklin Pierce returns to action next Friday when it plays host to Bentley at 4 p.m. in The Fieldhouse in Rindge. For more information on Franklin Pierce men’s basketball, please visit the team’s page at athletics.franklinpierce.edu(.)