FP
Tops #13 Longwood 86-77 in Season Opener
Jimmie Hunt scores 20 points to lead Ravens

CLARION, Pa. (November 16, 2001) - Franklin Pierce University
men's basketball team opened up the regular season with a 86-77 win over #13 Longwood College at the KFC/Subway Tournament this evening.

The Ravens got out to a strong start, as they built a 15 point lead at the half thanks to the outstanding play of Jimmie Hunt (Utica, N.Y./Mount Ararat Maine), who notched 11 points in the first half.

FP
continued to dominate at the beginning of the second half, as they held Longwood scoreless for nearly eight minutes. The Lancers attempted to close the gap just minutes later with an 18-0 run to cut FPC's lead from 27 points to nine points with 7:42 left in regulation.

After a timeout called by FPC, Zvonko Ilic (Nis, Yugoslavia/K.K. Student) sparked the offense, draining a three pointer seconds later. Hunt also dominated in the second half, scoring a total of nine points in the second half.

All five of FPC's starters posted double digit scoring tallies in this evening's contest. Sophomore Jimmie Hunt totaled 20 points, while classmate Derek Rodgerson (Newburgh, Maine/Hampden Academy) followed with 18 points.

Senior forward Zvonko Ilic recorded 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Ravens, while Kevin Scott (Mississauga, Ontario/Iona Catholic) registered 12 points and pulled down nine boards. Junior guard Tom Waterman (Bangor, Maine/Bangor/Maine) scored 12 points in the win and dished six assists.

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returns to action tomorrow evening, when it faces the winner of the Clarion/Practical Bible matchup in the tournament championship game at 7 p.m.