RINDGE, N.H. (2/7/23) – After holding the lead after the first half, the Franklin Pierce men's basketball team lost their grip in the second half against Northeast-10 Conference rival Southern New Hampshire University, falling to the Penmen 75-67 on Tuesday evening at The Fieldhouse.  

After previously having won seven straight, the Ravens have now dropped their last two decisions to move to 14-9 (9-7 NE10) on the season. Southern New Hampshire improves to 15-7 (12-4 NE10) following the road win.

Things got off to a rocky start for the Ravens in the early goings of the first half, as they quickly found themselves trailing the visitors 10-0 through the first four minutes of play. Their first basket of the evening came from behind the arc by sophomore Sean Trumper (Ashford, United Kingdom), which sparked a quick 7-0 run by the Ravens in response. That same streak, however, eventually transformed into a 13-4 run over a span of 5:18, and was capped off by consecutive three-pointers by freshman Evan Willey (Casco, Maine). Later down the stretch, Trumper would start and finish a 12-4 scoring run by the Ravens through four minutes of action, powering the hosts to a 31-23 lead. Two more three-pointers would fall for the Ravens before the end of the first half, with senior Brandon Kolek (Cumberland, R.I.) and sophomore Mohamad Traore (Hyde Park, Mass.) each converting from behind the arc to carry Pierce into the break leading 40-34.

After opening the second half with a balanced effort, the Ravens began to run into defensive troubles with under ten minutes to play. At 9:25, Southern New Hampshire opened an 11-4 run that quickly saw them back in control, shooting 3-of-3 from behind the arc. In an effort to keep things close, Mohamad Traore and Sean Bresnan (Yonkers, N.Y.) would answer back with consecutive triples from out deep, but could patch up the situation. Through the final five minutes of play, the Penmen would once again pull ahead to a lengthy margin with another 11-4 run, sealing the deal on free throws to round out the final score at 75-67.

Mohamad Traore hammered down 16 points on the night for the Ravens, additionally pulling down four boards with and four assists. Sean Trumper shot 5-of-8 from the field, securing 14 points with five rebounds, and Brandon Kolek also reached double-figures with 12 points, four rebounds and three assists. Through the full 40-minutes, the Ravens held a ten point edge in points scored in the paint (32-22), as well as points off turnovers (13-7), and second chance points (10-4).

Men's Basketball will play host to another NE10, in-state rival on Saturday, February 11^th for a 3:30 p.m. matchup with Saint Anselm College.