Dozier drops in game-high 23 points; Ravens can't overcome 13-0 run

BOXSCORE

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (December 17, 2010) -- The Franklin Pierce University men's basketball team opened play in the 2010 Cruzin Classic on Friday and suffered a 77-66 setback against Eckerd. The Ravens, playing their first game in 10 days, fell to 3-7 overall, while the Tritons improved to 9-1.

Ravens senior guard Kinard Dozier (Dedham, Mass.) dumped in a game-high 23 points on 7-of-11 shooting from the field. Classmate Jeff Manchester (Gorham, Maine) tossed in 12 points, while sophomore guard Eric Jean-Guillaume (Stamford, Conn.) added 10 points. Sophomore guard Nigel Van Oostrum (Sheffield, England) came off the bench to hand out five assists, while swiping three steals.

Three Tritons scored in double-figures, led by Dale Carn and Chris Gray with 14 points apiece. Carn also pulled down a game-high eight rebounds. Wayne Sears was the team's other double-digit scorer as he had 12 points and four assists off the bench.

Franklin Pierce held a slim 31-28 lead at halftime, but pushed its lead out to 10 at 40-30 in the opening minute of the second half following a triple from Manchester. Eckerd, though, countered by scoring the next eight points to pull within two, and the teams would trade baskets over the next several minutes.

The Ravens went up 48-45 with a little more than 12 minutes to go after Van Oostrum collected a steal and fed a nice pass to freshman guard Andre Blackwood (Paterson, N.J.), who laid in the basket.

The steal and layup did not spark the Ravens, but ignited the Tritons, as they responded with a 13-0 run over the next three-and-a-half minutes to take a 60-50 advantage. The run proved to be the difference-maker as the Ravens could not get any closer than five points during the final eight minutes.

Franklin Pierce shot a respectable 42 percent (24-of-57) from the floor, but could not handle Eckerd's hot shooting as the Tritons converted on 54 percent (23-of-43) of their attempts. Eckerd also held a commanding 38-20 advantage on the glass.

The first half went back and forth as the stanza saw two ties and seven lead changes. Franklin Pierce used an 8-0 run midway through the half, highlighted by four points from freshman forward Adrianos Vourliotakis Perdikaris (Cholargos, Athens) and capped with a layup from Dozier, to help stake the Ravens to the three-point lead at halftime.

Franklin Pierce returns to action Saturday evening when it closes out competition in the Cruzin Classic by taking on Nova Southeastern at 8 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).