First No. 1 ranking in the regional poll in program history

Eric Jean-Guillaume ranks ninth in the NE-10 in scoring at 15.2 points per game and leads the league in steals with 59.

RINDGE, N.H. (February 15, 2012) -- One day after its pulsating 78-58 win at traditional Northeast-10 Conference power, Bentley, the Franklin Pierce University men's basketball team was ranked No. 1 in the first NCAA East Region Poll of the 2011-12 season. It marks the first time in program history the Ravens earned the top ranking in the regional poll.

The poll ranks the top-10 teams throughout the East region which is comprised of the NE-10, East Coast Conference (ECC) and Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC). The poll is used to help aid in determining qualifying teams and seeding for the NCAA Division II Tournament, which will begin next month. The East Region Poll will be released each week leading up to the NCAA Tournament announcement, which will be made during the first weekend of March following the conclusion of every league tournament across the nation.

The 2011-12 Ravens have put together the program's finest season since the school joined the Northeast-10 prior to the 2000-01 season. Franklin Pierce is 18-6 overall this season, including a 14-6 mark in the NE-10, which is widely regarded as one of the finest Division II conferences in the nation. The Ravens have already clinched their first winning season in 10 years.

Franklin Pierce has won eight of its last 10 games and is currently in second place in the league, just one game back of first place Adelphi (15-5). If Franklin Pierce were to catch the Panthers for first place by the end of the regular season, the Ravens would claim the regular season title and home court advantage throughout the NE-10 tournament due to owning the tiebreaker against Adelphi via a 61-45 triumph in Rindge back on Jan. 14. Franklin Pierce has two more games remaining in the regular season, which concludes with a Saturday home tilt versus UMass-Lowell at 3:30 p.m., and then a Tuesday home contest against Merrimack at 7:30 p.m. The Ravens have made The Fieldhouse one of the toughest venues to play in the East this season as they are 8-1 with all eight victories coming by double-digit margins.

The rest of the East Region Poll included: Adelphi (2nd, NE-10); University of the District of Columbia (3rd, ECC); UMass-Lowell (4th, NE-10); Philadelphia (5th, CACC); Bloomfield (6th, CACC); Bentley (7th, NE-10); Stonehill (8th, NE-10); Merrimack (9th, NE-10); and C.W. Post (10th, ECC).

Franklin Pierce has gone a combined 5-2 against teams currently ranked in the region. In addition to the previously mentioned wins over Adelphi and Bentley, the Ravens picked up an exciting, come-from-behind 86-80 victory at Lowell on Dec. 10. Franklin Pierce also swept the two-game regular season series from Stonehill this season, including a 57-47 win in Rindge back on Nov. 22 and an 82-79 triumph in Easton back on Jan. 31.

Several Ravens have contributed to the cause this season, including junior guard Eric Jean-Guillaume (Stamford, Conn.), who leads the team and ranks ninth in the NE-10 in scoring at 15.2 points per game. Jean-Guillaume recently went over 1,000 career points and prior to Saturday's game versus UMass-Lowell will be honored for his impressive accomplishment. Jean-Guillaume has also done an outstanding job of taking care of the basketball this season as he leads the NE-10 in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.8. He doesn't just get it done offensively, but also defensively as he leads the league in steals with 59.

Sophomore forward Ellis Cooper (Northampton, Mass.) is right behind Jean-Guillaume in the NE-10 standings with 58 steals, as his defensive intensity has led to several steals and ensuing coast-to-coast dunks which has brought the crowd to its feet in many home games this season. Cooper ranks 12th in the league in scoring at 14.6 points per game, but his average is raised in conference games-only as he ranks 10th at 15.1 points an outing. Cooper is one of the most rugged players in the NE-10 and his aggressive style of play was lacking from the team last season as he missed most of the year with an injury.

Freshman forward Ryen Vilmont (Philadelphia, Pa.) has been one of the biggest surprises in the league this season as he has been a valuable offensive contributor by averaging 10.9 points per game. A solid shooter from the free throw line, Vilmont ranks 10th in the NE-10 by shooting 80 percent at the stripe. He has also provided steady work on the defensive end by averaging 4.3 rebounds a game and ranking 15th in the conference with 17 blocks.

Jean-Guillaume and Cooper are joined by senior forward Adedamola Abu (Mattapan, Mass.) in forming the team's trio of captains. Abu has enjoyed his finest collegiate season during his final go-around in Rindge as he is averaging 6.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. A tireless worker on the glass, he ranks fifth in the league with 64 offensive rebounds.

Senior guard Nigel Van Oostrum (Sheffield, England) has started all 24 games at the point guard position and has provided steady play in running the show for the Ravens. He has dished out 114 assists this year which is the third highest total in the league. All five players mentioned above have started all 24 contests this season.

Franklin Pierce, as a team, ranks second in the NE-10 in scoring at 72.4 points per game, while limiting the opposition to just 62.7 points a night. The Ravens are shooting a Northeast-10 best 38.8 percent from three-point range, and their 45.5 percent shooting clip is the second highest in the league. Franklin Pierce leads the league in steals per game (9.3), while dishing out 14.9 assists an outing -- the second best average in the league.

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).