Eric Jean-Guillaume nets 13 points for the Ravens

RINDGE, N.H. (February 4, 2012) -- The Franklin Pierce University men's basketball team had all it could handle in the first half with Saint Michael's on Saturday, but the Ravens pulled away in the second half for a satisfying 64-54 win over the Purple Knights at The Fieldhouse in Rindge. Franklin Pierce won their third straight and for the sixth time in the last seven games to improve to 16-5 overall and 12-5 in the Northeast-10. St. Mike's dipped to 7-14 and 6-11 in league play.

It was a balanced attack for the Ravens as eight of the 10 players that saw game action scored at least three points. Nine of the 10 also grabbed at least one rebound. Franklin Pierce shot a solid 47 percent (23-of-49) from the field, including going for a strong 44 percent (7-of-16) from three-point range.

Sophomore forward Ellis Cooper (Northampton, Mass.) paced Franklin Pierce with 15 points, while also pulling down six rebounds, swiping five steals and dishing out three assists. Three of Cooper's point total came early in the game as he took an outstanding outlet pass from junior guard Eric Jean-Guillaume (Stamford, Conn.) and threw down a monster jam while getting fouled. Cooper capped the exciting three-point play with the ensuing free throw. Jean-Guillaume also had a big hand on the offensive side for the Ravens as he dropped in three three-pointers and scored 13 points.

Sophomore center Adrianos Vourliotakis Perdikaris (Cholargos, Athens) came off the bench to score nine points on 4-of-5 shooting. Classmate Curtis Christian (Harlem, N.Y.) also provided a nice scoring spark off the bench with eight points, while also collecting four rebounds and handing out three assists. Freshman forward Ryen Vilmont (Philadelphia, Pa.) went for seven points and five rebounds, while senior Adedamola Abu (Mattapan, Mass.) ripped down a game-high seven boards.

St. Mike's proved to be a hard out in this game as the Purple Knights got a game-high 25 points from Mike Holton Jr., including five three-pointers. Corey Crawford chipped in with 12 points.

Franklin Pierce clung to a slim 31-28 lead coming out of the locker room at halftime, but the Ravens knew it would take a better all-around effort in the second 20 minutes if they were going to pull out the victory. The Ravens were up to the challenge and scored the frame's first seven points over a four-minute span to take a 38-28 advantage. Senior guard Nigel Van Oostrum (Sheffield, England) keyed the surge with five points, including knocking down a deep three-pointer from the left wing.

The Purple Knights trimmed their deficit to six at 40-34 with 14:42 to go after Holton Jr. converted a three-point play on a transition layup and foul shot. Christian, though, had an answer at the other end of the court for Franklin Pierce as he slipped out to the left wing and buried a triple to give the Ravens a nine-point advantage.

The teams traded baskets over the next several minutes before Jean-Guillaume drained a three to push Franklin Pierce out to a 49-38 lead with 11:25 remaining. Saint Michael's, though, responded with four-straight points on back-to-back jumpers from Crawford and Tyler Schilling.

Franklin Pierce wasn't about to let Saint Michael's pull off the comeback and slowly went back to work and put on an 8-0 surge to take a 57-42 lead with 8:11 left. Christian, again, provided the answer for the Ravens as he dished off a sweet pass to Perdikaris, who laid in a basket while drawing a foul and converting the ensuing free throw to cap a three-point play. Christian wasn't finished and capped Franklin Pierce's run with a driving layup.

That surge proved to be the difference as the Purple Knights had no answer for it. Franklin Pierce did not let its lead slip below double-digits the rest of the way and led by as many as 16 points at 62-46 with 3:35 left following jumper from Jean-Guillaume.

The win marked Franklin Pierce's seventh triumph in eight home games this season with each victory coming by a double-digit margin. The 16 wins, overall, for Franklin Pierce are the most since the 2000-01 season.

Neither side gained the upper advantage in the opening 20 minutes as the period saw five ties and nine lead changes. St. Mike's netted seven-consecutive points midway through the half, including a trey from Holton Jr. and four points from Travis Warech, to take a 24-21 lead with 7:42 to go.

After a quick, 30-second timeout, Vilmont knotted the game at 24-all with a three-pointer. The Ravens eventually scored the half's final five points, including a three from Jean-Guillaume and a last-second layup from Perdikaris to take a 31-28 lead into the locker room.

Franklin Pierce returns to action Wednesday night when the Ravens play host to in-state rival Southern New Hampshire at 7:30 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(.) 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).