Saint Anselm Extends Lead 
Late to Top Franklin Pierce, 
74-61
Hawks end Ravens three-game win streak 
behind Moore’s 22 points 

MANCHESTER, N.H. (January 10, 2006) – Saint Anselm College, receiving votes in this week’s NABC Division II poll, broke open a big lead late in collecting a 74-61 decision over Franklin Pierce in Northeast-10 Conference men’s basketball action at Stoutenburgh Gym tonight.

            Senior Jim Moore (Worcester, Mass.) led Saint Anselm with a game-high 22 points, hitting 6-of-11 shots from the field and converting 10-of-11 shots from the free-throw line, to go with eight rebounds and four assists. Classmate Matt Cahill (Bridgewater, Mass./Bridgewater-Raynham) added 14 points (11 second half), while Darlington Okerulu (Jersey City, N.J./Hudson Catholic) notched a double-double with ten points, a game-high 11 rebounds (four offensive) and two steals. Senior Jim Holsworth (Bogota, N.J./Bogota) chipped in ten points, canning 3-4 from three-point range, six assists and three steals.

            Senior Pierre Sully (Jamaica Plain, Mass./North Cambridge) led Franklin Pierce with 13 points (all first half), aided by 3-4 shooting from three-point range, four rebounds and two assists. Classmate Justin Powell (Brookline, Mass./Brookline) added 11 points, while sophomore Joseph Chatman (Boston, Mass./BC High) added nine points, six rebounds and three assists.            

Saint Anselm extended a one-point (33-32) halftime lead to 13 points (47-34) after a Moore jumper 5:44 into the second half. Franklin Pierce fought back with five points (50-45) with an 11-3 run, capped by a pair of free throws from junior Darryl Minnifield (Boston, Mass./Brookline) with 8:25 to play.

            The Ravens had the ball with a chance to get even closer, but freshman Timothy Munch (Blauvelt, N.Y./Storm King Prep) missed a jumper and Okerulu sparked a 20-6 run with a jumper that put the Hawks up 19 (70-51) with 2:48 to play.

            Trailing 20-8, Franklin Pierce Head Coach David Chadbourne got whistled for a technical foul, which seemed to spark his team. Saint Anselm hit one of the two technical foul free throw to extend the cushion to 13 points, but the Ravens reeled off a 19-2 run to take a four-point lead after a Munch three-pointer with 3:48 left in the frame.

            Franklin Pierce maintained the lead until Cahill buried a three-pointer with three-seconds left in the stanza, for his first points of the night, to send the hosts into the lockerroom with a 33-32 advantage. The Ravens turned 11 first half turnovers by the Hawks into 14 points at the other end.

Franklin Pierce (7-6, 4-4 NE-10) returns to action on Saturday when it visits Southern Connecticut State University at 3:30 p.m. Saint Anselm (11-3, 6-3 NE-10) hosts Merrimack College on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.

BOXSCORE