Ravens force 33 turnovers and go on late 15-2 run to make things interesting in second half

BOXSCORE

EASTON, Mass. (November 17, 2010) -- The Franklin Pierce University men's basketball team mounted a furious late rally Wednesday night, but came up just short in a 68-62 setback to Stonehill at Merkert Gymnasium in Easton, Mass. The Ravens fell to 1-1 on the season and 0-1 in the Northeast-10 Conference, while Stonehill improved to 3-0 and 1-0 in league play.

Sophomore guard Eric Jean-Guillaume (Stamford, Conn.) led Franklin Pierce in scoring with 14 points, while freshman guard Andre Blackwood (Paterson, N.J.) and rookie forward Ellis Cooper (Springfield, Mass.) followed with 12 and 10 points, respectively.

Daniel Heppert paced all scorers with 17 points for the Skyhawks, while Patrick Lee chipped in with 13 points and 11 rebounds for a double-double.

Stonehill held a 60-45 lead with 5:08 remaining in the game, but the Ravens went on an impressive 15-2 run over the next four-and-half minutes to pull within 62-60 with :51 left. The run was kick-started with a back-to-back three-pointers from sophomore guard Nigel Van Oostrum (Sheffield, England) and senior backcourt-mate Kinard Dozier (Dedham, Mass.). Blackwood followed with five-straight points, including a layup and three-pointer. Van Oostrum converted a  pair of free throws and Dozier capped the run with a driving layup.

The teams swapped baskets after Franklin Pierce's run to keep the margin at two at 64-62 with :26 remaining. However, the Ravens could not convert another basket and was forced to foul in the waning seconds, which enabled the Skyhawks to knock down four-straight free throw attempts to seal the win.

Stonehill shot 49-percent from the floor (26-of-53), while also holding a 50-32 advantage on the boards. However, the Skyhawks did commit 33 turnovers, which allowed the Ravens to make the late charge.

Stonehill came out firing early on and took an 8-0 lead three minutes into the game. Jean-Guillaume knocked down a triple to stem the tide for Franklin Pierce, and the Ravens tried to claw back into it, but the Skyhawks were able to keep the lead out around double-digits the rest of the half. The Skyhawks took a 39-27 lead into the locker room at halftime.

Franklin Pierce returns to action this weekend when the Ravens travel to Rockville Centre, N.Y. to take part in the Molloy Lions Tournament. Franklin Pierce will face Saint Leo in the tournament's first round on Friday at 6 p.m., and then face either Molloy or Adelphi on Saturday at a time to be determined.

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).