#10 Men's Basketball Avoids Upset Bid from Saint Michael's with 70-68 Triumph for 750th Win in Program History

Victory is the 750th win in program history

RINDGE, N.H. (January 6, 2013) -- The No. 10 nationally ranked Franklin Pierce University men's basketball team brushed aside an aggressive performance from Saint Michael's on Sunday and deflated the Purple Knights bid at an upset with a 70-68 triumph at The Fieldhouse in Rindge. The Ravens improved to 9-2 overall and 6-1 in the Northeast-10, while the Purple Knights dipped to 4-7 and 1-6 in league play.

The win was also a historic one for men's basketball as the Ravens claimed the 750th win in program history. In its 50th season of intercollegiate competition, men's basketball has produced an all-time record of 750-542 for a 58 percent winning percentage.

Senior guard Eric Jean-Guillaume (Stamford, Conn.) returned to the lineup after missing two games and pumped in a game-high 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting from the floor (3-of-6 from three-point range). 

One of his triples aided a 9-2 run by the Ravens who went from a six-point deficit to a 60-59 lead with 3:37 remaining in the game. Jean-Guillaume netted 13 of his 18 points in the second 20 minutes as the lead changed hands several times.

Jean-Guillaume wasn't the only Raven to contribute during the surge as forward Ant Lessane (Brooklyn, N.Y.) scored four of his eight points during it, including laying in the go-ahead basket.

The score was tied three more times over the final three minutes, including at 65-65 with :59 left when Will Davis laid in a basket for the Purple Knights.

Jean-Guillaume, again, came up with a big basket as he drove the lane initially, but pulled up from the foul line and dropped in a jumper over several St. Mike's defenders. After a St. Mike's turnover on its next trip down the court, Jean-Guillaume drew a foul and converted a free throw to push the Ravens lead out to three.

St. Mike's couldn't hit the tying three in the closing seconds and sophomore forward Ryen Vilmont (Philadelphia, Pa.) hit a pair of foul shots with a second left to seal the win and run the Ravens home winning streak to four games.

Vilmont finished with 11 points, while junior guard Georgios Papapetrou (Athens, Greece) followed with nine points. Junior forward Adrianos Vourliotakis Perdikaris (Cholargos, Athens) ripped down a team-high 10 rebounds for the Ravens.

Three Purple Knights scored in double-figures, led by James Cambronne who had 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting. Mike Thompson and Corey Crawford chipped in with 17 and 14 points, respectively.

The game saw eight ties and nine lead changes, including five in the first seven minutes. Dom Ditlefsen laid in a basket to give St. Mike's a 21-13 lead a little more than eight minutes left in the first half and the Purple Knights eventually took a 30-26 lead into halftime.

The lead, again, went back and forth in the opening stages of the second half before the Ravens were finally able to go on their late rally for the victory.

Franklin Pierce returns to action Wednesday when the Ravens travel to face Southern Connecticut State at 7:30 p.m. in New Haven.

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). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce men's basketball apparel can do so on the athletic department's online store at athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store(.)