Men's Basketball Drops Heartbreaker to Pace in Final Seconds 71-68
Kinard Dozier just misses triple-double with 23 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists
RINDGE, N.H. (January 5, 2011) – The Franklin Pierce
University men’s basketball team just missed capturing its
second-straight win Wednesday night as the Ravens dropped a
last-second, 71-68, decision to Pace at The Fieldhouse in Rindge.
The Ravens fell to 4-9 overall and 2-6 in the Northeast-10, while
the Setters improved to 7-6 and 3-5 in league play.
Franklin Pierce senior guard Kinard Dozier (Dedham, Mass.) narrowly missed a triple-double as he logged 23 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists. He was 6-of-10 (60 percent) shooting from the field and a perfect 10-of-10 from the free throw line. Dozier had entered the game leading the NE-10 in free throw percentage and ranked eighth nationally in Division II in that category.
Three other Ravens scored in double-figures, including sophomore guard Eric Jean-Guillaume (Stamford, Conn.) with 14 points, senior guard Jeff Manchester (Gorham, Maine) with 11 points and freshman forward Ellis Cooper (Northampton, Mass.) with 10 points. Cooper, who on Monday was named the NE-10 Rookie of the Week, also blocked a pair of shots.
David Eismeier tied Dozier for game-high honors with 23 points for the Setters. His final five points, however, were the critical tallies in what proved to be the difference in the three-point victory.
His fall-away three-pointer from deep in the left corner with :25 to go lifted Pace to a 69-68 lead, and his rebound off a last-chance shot from Jean-Guillaume and ensuing two made free throws, capped the scoring and sealed the comeback win for the Setters. The victory snapped a four-game skid for Pace.
Eismeier shot 8-of-16 from the field, including going 5-of-10 from behind the arc. However, Eismeier did not attempt the most shots for Pace as that honor belonged to Adrian Mills, who dropped in 18 points on 6-of-20 shooting from the field.
The second half featured five ties and nine lead changes. Pace owned a 10-0 edge in points off turnovers as the Setters forced Franklin Pierce into seven giveaways, while only committing four themselves.
One of the lead changes that occurred in the second half came midway through the contest as Franklin Pierce used an 11-0 run to turn a 56-53 deficit into a 64-56 advantage with 5:09 remaining. Dozier had six points during the rally, while Jean-Guillaume capped it with a triple from several feet beyond the left wing. Franklin Pierce would continue to hold onto the lead before Eismeier’s late-game heroics pulled out the win for Pace.
The first half was much the same as the second as both teams exchanged leads throughout the 20 minutes. Cooper had all 10 of his points in the opening half, while Manchester added nine as the Ravens held a 35-31 lead at halftime.
Franklin Pierce returns to action Saturday when the Ravens travel to Albany, N.Y. to take on Saint Rose at 3:30 p.m.
For more information on Franklin Pierce men’s basketball, please visit the team’s page at athletics.franklinpierce.edu(.) To follow the program even further, please visit Franklin Pierce Athletics on YouTube (www.youtube.com/FranklinPierceSports), Twitter (www.twitter.com/FPUathletics) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceAthletics).