Nigel Van Oostrum nets 13 points for the Ravens

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (January 7, 2012) -- The Franklin Pierce University men's basketball team could not shake off a slow start versus Le Moyne on Saturday and ultimately dropped an 80-66 decision to the Dolphins at Ted Grant Court in Syracuse, N.Y. The Ravens had their two-game winning streak snapped in falling to 10-3 overall and 6-3 in the Northeast-10, while Le Moyne improved to 7-6 and 3-6 in league play.

Three Ravens scored in double-figures, led by sophomore forward Ellis Cooper's (Northampton, Mass.) 20 points. He also grabbed seven rebounds, handed out three assists and swiped a pair of steals. Junior guard Eric Jean-Guillaume (Stamford, Conn.) and senior backcourt-mate Nigel Van Oostrum (Sheffield, England) followed with 16 and 13 points, respectively.

Le Moyne also had a trio of players log double-digits in scoring, including Brian Zapisek's 20 points. Jim Janson shot 9-of-11 from the field and pumped in 19 points, while Nate Champion added 17 points.

Franklin Pierce struggled shooting the basketball and only converted on 37 percent (24-of-65) of its shots. Le Moyne, though, had a strong game offensively and connected on 50 percent (27-of-54) of its attempts. The Dolphins also shot a solid 44 percent (10-of-23) from behind the three-point arc.

Le Moyne came out of the gates on fire in the first half and scored the first seven points while taking a 12-2 advantage with 13:00 left in the frame. Zapisek drained a pair of triples in the early run, while Janson netted four points on a dunk and a jumper.

The Ravens slowly chipped away at the deficit and a three-pointer from Jean-Guillaume at the 7:43 mark pulled them to within four at 14-10. However, the Dolphins reeled off 12-consecutive points, including five from Champion, to grab a 26-10 lead with 4:40 left until halftime.

Le Moyne netted the final five points of the half, including a trey from Chris Johnson, to take a 38-17 advantage into the locker room at halftime.

The second half didn't get any better for the Ravens as Le Moyne came out firing once again and built a 22-point advantage at 41-19 with 17:40 left following a three-pointer from Gamal Mohamed. 

Franklin Pierce tried to claw its way back into the contest, but the margin was too much to overcome. The Ravens did get to within 10 late, but could not get the deficit into single digits as the Dolphins sealed the victory.

Franklin Pierce returns to action Wednesday when the Ravens travel to face New Haven at 7:30 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).