#24 Falcons Hot Shooting Too Much For Ravens to Handle

This Franklin Pierce University men's basketball recap is presented by Belletetes

RINDGE, N.H. (November 28, 2018) – Franklin Pierce University men's basketball junior guard Falu Seck (Washington, D.C.) produced a team-high 19 points and knocked down a game-best four three-pointers, but it wasn't enough as the Ravens dropped their home opener 93-79 to no. 24 nationally-ranked and Northeast-10 Conference opponent Bentley University Wednesday night at The Fieldhouse. With the win, the Falcons remain unblemished at 6-0, 3-0 NE10 while the Ravens record was evened at 3-3, 1-1 NE10.

Seck shot 7-of-14 (50.0%) from the hardwood and 4-of-7 (57.1%) from beyond the arc chipping in one assist and one theft in a team-high 32 minutes. Teammate Doyin Fadojutimi (Temple Hills, Md.) was one rebound shy of a double-double scoring 18 points, grabbing nine boards (four offensive) to go with three steals and two assists.

Sophomore guard Sam van Oostrum (Sheffield, England) joined his teammates in double-figures with 10 markers totaling a team-best four assists, three caroms, one steal, and one block. Graduate student Jeremy Arthur (Westbury, N.Y.) led all bench players with nine points with three boards, one assist and one steal on 3-of-5 (60.0%) shooting.

All five starters for the Falcons scored in double-digits as they were led by Ryan Richmond who scored 20 points. Sophomore guard Colton Lawrence (19 points, 12 rebounds) and junior forward Chris Hudson (16 points, 10 rebounds) recorded double-doubles.

Bentley had their shooting stroke working all night as they tuned in a 30-of-55 (54.5%) shooting performance including a 13-of-20 (65.0%) evening from downtown. They also went 20-of-24 (83.3%) at the free throw line, while the Ravens only reached the stripe nine times in the contest. The Ravens took 20 more shot attempts than the Falcons, but only made two more field goals than their counterparts.

Seck opened the scoring banking in a three-ball on the right corner to give the hosts a 3-0 advantage only 15 seconds into the duel. Lawrence answered right back with a trey of his own to even the score 34 seconds later. van Oostrum regained the slim lead towards the home team side as he ran a pick and roll into the paint for an and1 giving Pierce a 6-3 edge. A Seck fast-break layup after a van Oostrum steal and Fadojutimi's only three-pointer of the game gave FPU their largest lead of the contest, 11-5

Seven straight for the guests, a dunk by Hudson, followed by a layup and then a Jordan Mello-Klein deep connection moved the Falcons in front 12-11. Two Raven possessions later, Arthur buried a setback three-ball to push Pierce back ahead 14-12. This would be the final lead the Ravens would have in the game.

A 14-2 Bentley burst shaped the rest of the showdown. Richmond established the first double-digit lead of the match when he hit on a wing three to cap the scoring binge, 26-16 with 11:38 left before the break. van Oostrum brought the deficit down to six, 30-24 by sinking a trifecta at the top of the point. Raven graduate forward Lolami Lola-Charles (Aberdeen, Md.) cleaned up a missed Seck three, and put the ball into the rack for the second chance points bringing his squad within four, 30-26.

Another Falcon run, this time via the 11-1 variety gave them their largest lead of the first half, 41-27 following a Seth Stankiewicz trey. The Ravens would bring the score within nine points four times over the remaining 5:19 as they headed into halftime trailing 51-40.

In the second half, the teams swapped buckets as the scoring margin stayed within a couple of points until another Stankiewicz three-pointer upped the guest advantage to a game-high 20, 79-59 with 8:49 to go. The Ravens slowly began to chip away into the lead when freshman Isaiah Moore (Temple Hills, Md.) rung home a floater to make the score 80-65 at the 6:65 mark. A Brandon Kolek (Cumberland, R.I.) slash through the lane and a Fadojutimi fast break lay-in brought the hosts within 11, 80-69 with 5:57 left to play. Seck and Kolek came up with huge steals on the ensuing two Raven possessions, but the wide-open three-point looks were off the mark. The closest FPU would come after those misses were when Kolek made the deficit 10, 82-72 draining a trey from the top perimeter with under 4:30 to play. Bentley would tack on a couple of points to hang on for the 14 point win.

The Ravens remain home at The Fieldhouse Saturday when they take on NE10 opponent Stonehill College at 3:30 p.m.

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). You can also follow the men's basketball team on Twitter (https://twitter.com/FPURavensMBB) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/fpuravensmbb/).