NEW HAVEN, Conn. (2/15/23) – With the final Northeast-10 Conference standings hanging in the balance, the Franklin Pierce men's basketball team gained some ground with a victory over Southern Connecticut, 76-73, in a Northeast-10 mid-week matchup at the James Moore Field House.

Men's basketball improves to 15-10 (10-8 NE10) overall and halts a recent three-game losing streak .The loss drops Southern Connecticut to a 16-10 (10-7 NE10) mark on the season.

Senior Sean Trumper (Ashford, United Kingdom) kicked off a steady stream of offense by the Ravens to open the first half, eventually drawing even with the Owls at 10-10 three minutes in. including the tying points, however, the Owls stormed their way to an 18-10 advantage with an 11-0 run. The Ravens then replied with their own series of points, outscoring the Owls 12-4 across a four-minute span to bring the score back to a tied 22-22 score. Then, as the tides continued to turn, the Owls returned to an eight point on a 9-1 counter-run, establishing a 31-23 lead with just over seven minutes left to play in the half. Over the course of the final five minutes, the Ravens would piece together one last push to narrow the deficit with a 6-0 run, which was opened with a three-pointer by senior Brandon Kolek (Cumberland, R.I.) and ended with a dunk by sophomore Wol Maiwen (Auburn, Maine). At the break, Southern Connecticut was seemingly in control, 43-33.

To open the second half, sophomore Mohamad Traore (Hyde Park, Mass.) drained a corner three to spearhead an early 8-2 run by the Ravens. Over the course of the next ten minutes, the Ravens would continue to find success from the floor, including another from three-range by freshman Francisco Boniciolli (Trieste, Italy) at 12:02, but the Owls would match them step-for-step and hold a 55-51 lead at the halfway point. At 7:38, with the Owl lead now down to 58-56, Sean Trumper battled his way to the rim with a layup to tie the game, which was then followed up with a second three-pointer by Mohamad Traore to place the lead back in Pierce's hands, 61-58. Following that sequence, the Ravens would get even more help from junior forward Antonio Chandler (Piscataway, N.J.), who drew an and-one to turn three-points out of a driving layup. A final three-pointer by Brandon Kolek at 3:56 would add provide enough of a cushion for the Ravens to survive the night, as they would wind up on top at the final buzzer, 76-73.

Sean Trumper's 28-point night was for a new career-best for the Raven sophomore, as he shot 10-of-12 from the floor along with seven boards and three steals. Junior Sean Bresnan (Yonkers, N.Y.) was also a frequent presence on the floor for the Ravens, scoring 13 points to go with five boards, one assist, and one steal. As a team, the Ravens finished 25-of-53 (47.2%) in field goals, 10-of-22 (45.5%) from the perimeter, scoring 11 points off of Owl turnovers.

Only one home game remains for men's basketball, which will be coming up this Saturday (2/15) against the conference's top-squad, Bentley University (19-4, 14-4 NE10) at 3:30 p.m.