Eric Jean-Guillaume tosses in 21 points

WORCESTER, Mass. (March 11, 2012) -- The top-seeded Franklin Pierce University men's basketball team dropped a 69-60 decision to fifth-seeded Bloomfield College on Sunday night in the second round of the 2012 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball East Regional Championship at Laska Gymnasium in Worcester, Mass. The Ravens concluded their season with a 22-8 record, while Bloomfield improved to 26-7 and advanced to Tuesday night's regional final versus second-seeded Stonehill at 7 p.m.

Terry Hicks bombed in 7-of-8 three-point attempts and scored 21 points to pace Bloomfield, while Matt Wafula followed with 18 points. Ahmad Harris and Kevin Udo chipped in with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Sophomore forward Ellis Cooper (Northampton, Mass.) led Franklin Pierce with a game-high 22 points and he ripped down 11 rebounds to log a double-double. Junior guard Eric Jean-Guillaume (Stamford, Conn.) dropped in 21 points, including swiping three steals and handing out a trio of assists.

Franklin Pierce struggled shooting the ball as the Ravens connected on just 39 percent of their shots (23-of-59). Bloomfield, on the other hand, shot 51 percent (28-of-55) from the floor, including a sizzling 73 percent (8-of-11) from three-point range.

The Ravens, though, came out of the gates strong and got baskets from Cooper, Jean-Guillaume and senior forward Adedamola Abu (Mattapan, Mass.). But Bloomfield responded with a 10-0 run to grab a 15-6 lead with 14:28 left in the half. Hicks drained a pair of triples to aid the rally, including capping it with a triple from the left wing.

The Deacons pushed their lead out to 10 moments later at 20-10 on a Marvin Williams layup and Bloomfield continued to lead by double-digits the rest of the half in taking a 42-30 lead into the locker room at halftime. Cooper had 13 points in the first half for the Ravens, while Hicks and Wafula paced Bloomfield with 15 and 11 points, respectively.

Despite the first-half struggles, Franklin Pierce didn't fold and quickly went to work chipping away at the deficit. The Ravens opened the first six minutes of the half on a 16-4 run to knot the score at 46-all. Freshman forward Ryen Vilmont (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Cooper sparked the run with back-to-back three-pointers and Jean-Guillaume followed with a three-point play on a layup and ensuing free throw. Jean-Guillaume made a free throw moments later to tie the game.

Bloomfield, however, didn't fold and scored 20 of the game's next 26 points to open up a 66-52 lead with 4:47 left. Harris kick-started the rally with a layup and capped it with a deep triple. Franklin Pierce tried to claw its way back into the game, but Bloomfield's run sealed the victory.

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/FranklinPierceRavens).