RINDGE, N.H. (January 22, 2020) – Southern Connecticut State University men's basketball player Greg Jones scored a game-high 25 points and grabbed a contest-best 15 rebounds – eight offensive en route to a double-double as his squad defeated Franklin Pierce University 75-66 Wednesday evening in Northeast-10 Conference action in The Fieldhouse. With the loss, the first at home on the year for FPU (6-1), moves them to 11-6, 6-4 NE10 while the Owls hoot to 10-6, 6-4 NE10.

Jones did most of his damage in the paint helping his team to a 38-to-24 point advantage in the low post. The guests also outrebounded Pierce by a 53-to-36 margin including 18-to-8 on the offensive end. He was joined in double-figures by teammate Isaiah Boissard who tallied a double-double, 15 points and 10 rebounds. All 15 of his points were scored in the first stanza.

Sophomore forward Maxwell Zegarowski (South Hamilton, Mass.) was the leading point-getter for the crimson and grey as he produced a team-high 14 points off 5-of-6 (83.3%) shooting with four triples, and three boards in 29 minutes off the bench. Falu Seck (Washington, D.C.) put home 12 markers of his own with a team-best four dimes and two rebounds while Doyin Fadojutimi (Temple Hills, Md.) was held to his lowest scoring output of the season (11 points), but he found other ways to contribute with six rebounds, a game-high three blocks, two dimes, and one theft.

Fadojutimi started the scoring in the bout as he drained a three-ball from the left wing off a Seck pass to put the Ravens in front early 3-0. The Owls responded with seven consecutive markers with Boissard making a second chance bucket and a long-range connection in the mini spurt. Senior forward Jameson Pierrelus (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) was hacked down on the lower left block and muscled in a layup for the and1 which put Pierce down by one, 7-6 at the 16:51 mark. On the ensuing defensive possession, Fadojutimi stuffed Boissard on the elbow and Seck scooped up the loose rock for the fast break driving deuce to move the hosts back into the lead. An Isaiah Moore (Temple Hills, Md.) floater gave FPU their last lead of the first half, 10-9 at the 15:56 mark.

SCSU opened up a two-possession edge, 17-12 thanks to an 8-2 binge and another Boissard second-chance layup. Pierce stopped play with a timeout and set up Zegarowski for a wing three-ball to drop the margin to two, 17-15. A Jones hoop and harm built the score back to five, but freshman forward Sean Bresnan (Yonkers, N.Y.) countered with a left corner triple via a Brandon Kolek (Cumberland, R.I.) post pass. Five in a row by the guests expanded their score to 25-18 until Seck lofted a beautiful alley-oop pass to Fadojutimi who cut from the right-wing and completed the jam with two hands.

The Owls matched their biggest lead of the first half as Jones converted another bunny. Trailing 31-24, Pierce deadlocked the match 33-33 on a 9-2 mini-run with Zegarowski kick-starting the spurt with a three and Seck ending it with a layup at the 4:08 mark. With 1:44 to play in the half, Boissard continued to pound the ball in the paint regaining the two-possession Owl lead, however, Moore cut into it and FPU was behind 42-40 at the conclusion of the first half.

In the second half, Pierce started hot and took a two-point, 44-42 edge as Moore kissed a scoop off the window and Fadojutimi knocked down a jumper. That would be the last time the Ravens would hold the advantage. Over the next few minutes, Southern Connecticut would go on a 17-5 run to open up the game's first double-digit lead 59-49 with 12:38 left. Back-to-back Kolek three-pointers from the opposite corners combined with a Seck trifecta subtracted from the SCSU margin and made it a 61-58 game with 9:22 to play. The Owls would remain in the driver's seat building a 14 point, 73-59 advantage thanks to a 12-1 game shaping scoring run.

Franklin Pierce remains in The Fieldhouse on Saturday for a 2:00 p.m. NE10 bout with Adelphi University (14-5, 7-3 NE10).

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/).