Doyin Fadojutimi
Doyin Fadojutimi (Photo Courtesy of Maggie McComish)

Fadojutimi Records Double-Double, Leads Four in Double-Figures as Men’s Hoops Knocks Off Bentley, 94-90

RINDGE, N.H. (December 7, 2019) – It was a back-and-forth affair featuring 13 lead changes and 10 ties but the Franklin Pierce University men's basketball team outlasted the Bentley University Falcons 94-90 in a Northeast-10 Conference bout at The Fieldhouse Saturday afternoon. Senior guard Doyin Fadojutimi (Temple Hills, Md.) led a quartet of Ravens in double figures with a game-high 33 points in the victory. With the win, the Ravens improve to 4-3 2-2 NE10 while the Falcons fall to 7-2 2-1 NE10.

Fadojutimi added three steals, a block, and 10 rebounds to finish with his first double-double of the season and third of his career. In the process, he shot a robust 62.5% from the field and connected on 6-of-9 from three-point range.

Isaiah Moore (Temple Hills, Md.), Falu Seck (Washington, D.C.) and Sean Fasoyiro (Houston, Texas), also reached double-figures. Moore finished with 14 points, a team-high three assists, and two steals while shooting 6-of-12 from the field. Seck contributed 13 points, five boards and a steal connecting on 50% of his shots from the hardwood. Fasoyiro added 12 points, three rebounds and two assists while going a perfect 4-for-4 off the bench. Jameson Pierrelus (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) produced a solid stat line with seven points, seven boards, and a block while Maxwell Zegarowski (South Hamilton, Mass.) had a pair of blocks in 19 minutes off the pine.

Chris Hudson carried the Falcons with 27 points to go with eight rebounds and four steals. Mason Webb pitched in 23 points and Jordan Mello-Klein added 14 points. Pete Blust narrowly missed a double-double as he finished with eight points and 10 boards coupled with a pair of blocks.

Bentley opened the scoring as Hudson put in a layup following a pair of offensive rebounds by the Falcons. That score would be the only points scored by either team in the first two minutes of the game until Brian Kinsey-Wright made a layup for the Falcons. Seck finally got the Ravens on the board by splitting a pair of chances from the charity stripe. Two Raven possessions later Fadojutimi dove on the floor to corral an offensive rebound and found Seck for a layup to cut the Falcon lead to one. Each side got a layup before Fadojutimi put the Ravens in front with a steal and a breakaway dunk.

The Falcons retook the lead with a 7-0 stretch to push in front 11-7, but the Ravens answered with an 8-0 run of their own capped off by a Fadojutimi block followed by a trailer three to put the Ravens ahead 15-13. Bentley gradually took a four-point lead at 29-25 with six and a half minutes left however, the Ravens went on a run. A Pierrelus layup sparked a 19-7 stretch polished off by a Fadojutimi triple with just three seconds left giving the Ravens a 44-36 lead at the break.

Hudson was the leading scorer in the first stanza producing 12 points while Webb pitched in 10 more. Five Ravens had five or more points in the half led by Fadojutimi's 11. Both teams shot an even 50% from the field but it was the Ravens who were better from long range and took care of the ball. The crimson and grey hit 6-of-14 attempts from deep against Bentley's 3-for-9 while the Ravens committed just seven turnovers against Bentley's 11.

The Falcons tied the game at 48 by opening the second half on a 12-4 spurt. The Ravens retook the lead with a layup by freshman forward Sean Bresnan (Yonkers, N.Y.) and a pair of Fadojutimi free throws, but Bentley once again countered with four straight points to tie the game at 52. The crimson and grey regained the edge with a Sam van Oostrum (Sheffield, England) layup, but the Falcons answered with a pair of free throws by Pete Blust and a Seth Stankiewicz jumper to take a two-point advantage. Each team connected on a pair of free throws before Brandon Kolek (Cumberland, R.I.) made a jumper and Moore grabbed a steal and scored on the other end to put the Ravens ahead 60-58. Bentley responded with four straight points on a Blust layup and a pair of free throws by Webb but then the Ravens went on an 8-3 run to go-ahead 68-65.

The Falcons then scored six consecutive points to retake a three-point lead. Fasoyiro halted the run with a layup and sparked a 10-0 run that featured a pair of Fadojutimi trifectas to up the Raven lead to 78-71. Jordan Mello-Klein then converted on a four-point play to make it a one-possession game. The teams split the next eight points before Fadojutimi drained another triple to put Franklin Pierce ahead 85-79. Webb answered with a three of his own to make it 85-82 with 1:30 left. The Ravens proceeded to connect on 9-of-12 from the free-throw line to outscore Bentley 9-8 down the stretch to hang on to the victory.

As a team, Franklin Pierce shot 54.2% from the field including 45.5% from long range and connected on 20-of-27 free-throw attempts. Bentley shot well overall firing 47.8% from the field but struggled from three-point range hitting just 7-of-24 (29.2%). They also connected on 17-of-21 from the charity stripe. The Raven bench was terrific outscoring the Bentley second unit 20 to 9. As a team, Franklin Pierce had four blocks against Bentley's two and had more steals with nine against six for the Falcons

The Ravens return to the hardwood when they host Cheyney University for a non-conference matchup on Saturday, December 14th with tip-off set for 3:30 p.m.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://www.fpuravens.com). 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 (https://shopfpuravens.com). You can also follow the men's basketball team on Twitter (https://twitter.com/FPURavensMBB) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/fpuravensmbb/).