WALTHAM, Mass. (12/31/22) — Things were difficult from the start for the Franklin Pierce men's basketball team as they failed to pull out a win versus Bentley in a 2022 NE10 Championship Final rematch, falling to the Falcons 86-75 on New Years Eve.

With the loss, the Ravens close out 2022 and fall to 7-4 (3-3 NE10) on the season, ending a three-game winning streak. Bentley currently leads the NE10 with just one conference loss, and improve to 10-1 (5-1 NE10) with the win.

Bentley began the game with a quick 10-0 run, shooting 4-of-6 from the floor over the first three minutes of the opening half. At the 13:22 mark, sophomore Jarnel Snow-Guzman (Lynn, Mass.) helped the Ravens rally back with a driving layup, which was then followed quickly by a corner three-pointer from senior Brandon Kolek (Cumberland, R.I.) off a Bentley turnover. Minutes later, Snow-Guzman would knock down a jumper from two-point territory to tie the contest up at 19-19, eventually leading to a Mohamad Traore (Hyde Park, Mass.) layup to give Pierce their first lead of the afternoon. However, Bentley returned to the lead with interest following twelve unanswered points through the final ten minutes of the half, and would enter the pause leading Ravens 46-34.

The Falcons returned to their scoring ways out of the break with an 11-4 run, as Pierce's first consecutive points of the bottom half came off a Mohamad Traore layup and an Antonio Chandler (Piscataway, N.J.) dunk at 15:54. However, as the Ravens attempted to chip away at the lengthy deficit, Bentley continued to find success with possession, powering their way to a 68-56 lead with ten minutes left to play. Approaching the final five-minutes, the Ravens made a final push led by two three-pointers from Brandon Kolek, mounting a 10-2 scoring run on the Falcons. However, as Pierce took points where they could get them, Bentley remained ahead and ended the contest with the 86-75 victory, claiming their eighth straight victory.

The Ravens saw three double-digit point performances, ushered by a 23 point afternoon from Brandon Kolek. Mohamad Traore and sophomore forward Sean Trumper (Ashford, United Kingdom) each added 15 and 11 points respectively, as the team shot 31-of-68 (45.6%) from the floor. In addition to his 15 points, Traore logged a team-high 38 minutes played, also collecting three assists and two rebounds.

Men's basketball will open the new year back at home on January 2^nd for a non-conference battle with Daemen University at 1:00 p.m. from The Fieldhouse.