Sam van Oostrum
Sam van Oostrum (Photo Courtesy of Luke Tracy)

House of Horrors: Hawks Drop Eighth Straight in Fieldhouse, Bench Flourishes in Raven Victory

Highlights

RINDGE, N.H. (January 31, 2018) – The Franklin Pierce University men's basketball bench trio of Sam van Oostrum (Sheffield, England), Devonte McCall (Amherst, Mass.) and Sean Fasoyiro (Houston, Texas) accounted for 31 bench points as the Crimson and Grey upended defending Northeast-10 Conference champion Saint Anselm College 93-88 Wednesday evening in a rowdy and ruckus Fieldhouse. The victory snapped a two-game losing skid for the Ravens as they moved to 11-9 overall and 6-9 NE10 while the Hawks fall to 16-5, 11-4 NE10.

In the series between these two programs, Saint Anselm has lost their previous eight road games at The Fieldhouse. Their last win in Rindge came on Sunday, November 29, 2009, when they defeated the Ravens 71-66.

Van Oostrum played a bench-best 24 minutes in the duel. He scored 11 points all, which came in the first half, dished out dime after dime for a game-high six assists, snagged five rebounds, notched two steals, and blocked one shot. McCall matched his classmates scoring output with 11 markers on 5-of-8 (62.5%) shooting to go along with four boards, two steals and one block. Fasoyiro tallied nine points on a 4-of-5 (80.0%) performance. The FPU bench outscored the Hawks reserves 31-to-2 over the course of the game.

Starting forward Asante Sandiford (Boston, Mass.) led all Ravens with 18 points and was a rebound shy of a double-double while handing out five helpers. Doyin Fadojutimi (Temple Hills, Md.) chipped in 16 markers on a 5-of-11 (45.4%) night which included a 4-of-7 (57.1%) showing from beyond the arc. Mike McDevitt (Cumberland, Maine) and Jordan Lackey (South Plainfield, N.J.) recorded double-digit scoring nights with 11 and 10 points respectively.

All five starters scored in double-figures for the guests. Senior guard Taylor Fortin led all players with a game-high 25 points. Reigning NE10 Player of the Week, junior guard Tim Guers played the entire contest and dropped 24 points while grabbing seven boards and dishing out five assists. Backcourt partner Cody Ball tallied 15 markers, five steals, and four assists.

Franklin Pierce outshot Saint Anselm from the field, from deep and at the charity stripe in the showdown while the Ravens led for the majority (33:02 minutes) of the duel. In the first half, Raven players put their bodies on the line and drew three crucial charge plays that killed potential momentum-changing possessions.

Raven sophomore guard Falu Seck (Washington, D.C.) began the game by hitting a mid-range step-back jumper to give the Ravens the early 2-0 lead. Ball immediately connected from the corner by draining a contested trey to push the Hawks in front 3-2. Two Ball freebies upped the Hawk lead to a game-high three points. Five straight for the Ravens via a Lackey lay-in and a Fadojutimi right wing three-ball off a Lackey pass from the restricted area moved the Ravens ahead 7-5.

Both squads traded points and possessions before van Oostrum checked into the game and made his presence felt immediately. The freshman made a plethora of flashy passes and showed off his long-range stroke. His first three-ball came in transition on the left wing to make the score 14-11. Following two free throws by the Hawks' Chris Paul, van Oostrum struck again from deep, this time spotting up from the top of the point as the Ravens led by four, 17-14. Ahead by three following a Fasoyiro layup, van Oostrum converted his third three-ball in as many attempts when he knocked down a wide-open attempt on the right wing that was kicked out by Lackey who was double-teamed on the low block. Two minutes passed until David Bradbury (Deep River, Conn.) inbounded the rock to Fadojutimi on a designed three-point play to cap the 14-5 Raven run and increase the hosts lead to nine, 25-16.

The Hawks promptly tied the score at 27 all when Fortin ended an 11-2 run by sinking a corner three-ball with 5:01 left before the break. Four straight points from Fasoyiro via a layup and jumper combined with a McCall two-handed putback slam pushed the Ravens back ahead by two possessions at 33-27. A Ball three-pointer paired with a steal and outlet pass to Fortin brought the deficit down to two, 35-33 with 1:25 to go. Fasoyiro's only trey of the game and a van Oostrum right-handed scoop off the glass while driving left concluded the half as the Ravens led 40-33.

Coach Chadbourne drew up a play to start the second stanza and it worked to perfection when Lackey powered through the post for a bucket that upped the Raven lead to 42-33. Saint Anselm rattled off nine consecutive markers to tie the score at 42 all after Fortin completed an old-fashioned three-point play. The guests defense kept stifling the Ravens in the early portion of the second half, but Fadojutimi with the shot clock winding down, buried a corner three to move the Ravens back ahead 45-42. Ball matched Fadojutimi with a corner connection of his own and Fortin drained a mid-range attempt, which gave the Hawks their only advantage of the second stanza, 47-45.

Franklin Pierce went to the three-ball and manufactured their next 12 points from beyond the arc to reestablish a double-digit lead, 57-47 following a McDevitt pick and pop shot at the top of the key. Saint Anselm shaved the Crimson and Grey edge to two points, 65-63 following two Fortin freebies with 9:25 left to play. Over the next two minutes of play, McDevitt went on a personal six-point, two rebound run to reestablish a multiple possession lead for the Birds at 71-63. The team captain posted up a defender in traffic, sank a right baseline fade-away attempt and drilled a mid-range jumper from the elbow during his binge.

The Ravens hung on to the edge, but the guests slowly crawled back into the game when a Fortin three-ball cut their deficit to three, 79-76 with 3:26 to go. A McDevitt jumper fed by Sandiford and a Seck driving hoop and harm moved the Raven lead to 84-76. Saint Anselm began to foul early and they came within three again with 39 ticks left following another Fortin three, but the Ravens made their free throws down the stretch.

The Ravens travel away from campus on Saturday to NE10 opponent Saint Michael's College for a 3:30 p.m. tip-off.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics' official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens ), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce men's basketball apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).