Franklin
Pierce Holds Back Saint Michael's, 78-69 COLCHESTER, Vt. (January 5, 2003) - Franklin Pierce raced to a 20-point early in the second half and diffused a pair of late charges to post a 78-69 victory over Saint Michael's College in Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball action at the Ross Sports Center this afternoon. Junior guard Jimmie Hunt (Utica, N.Y./Mount Ararat (Maine)) led all scorers with 22 points (11 each half) and grabbed six rebounds to lead Franklin Pierce. Senior forward Zvonko Ilic (Nis, Yugoslavia) netted 16 points off the bench on six-of-eight shooting from the field, including 3-5 from three-point range, to go along with four rebounds and five assists. Junior Derek Rodgerson (Newburgh, Maine/Hampden Academy) chipped in 15 points, four rebounds, four assists and four steals.
Freshman Mike Keating led Saint Michael's with 20 points (15 second half), canning 4-7 from long range, to go along with seven rebounds, three assists and two steals. Classmate Chase Graves added 19 points, four assists and two steals, while sophomore Delbert Randall chipped in 12 points. Franklin Pierce hit 51.9-percent (27-52) of its shots from the field for the game, including 58.6% (17-29) in the opening half to build its lead. The Ravens held Saint Michael's to 41.7% (10-24) shooting in the first stanza, while forcing 11 Purple Knights turnovers. Saint Michael's scored the game's first seven points, but after a Franklin Pierce timeout, the Ravens answered the call. Ilic sparked the rally with ten-straight points, including back-to-back three-pointers which turned a three-point deficit into a 12-9 lead just 5:15 into the game. The Ravens never trailed again as a Rodgerson three-ball extended the lead to six and after a 10-0 run, Franklin Pierce held a 16-9 lead with 13:33 to play in the first half. Leading 33-26 with 4:26 left in the half, the Ravens closed out the stanza with a 12-2 run to take a 45-28 lead into the lockerroom.
A three-pointer and a layup by Rodgerson gave Franklin Pierce a 53-33 lead 2:23 into the second half, but Saint Michael's answered with a 14-3 run capped by a Keating three-pointer that trimmed the lead to nine points (56-47) with 11:42 on the clock. The Purple Knights worked their deficit down to eight points (62-54) with 9:27 to play after another Keating trifecta, but a Hunt three-pointer and two free throws capped a 6-0 Ravens run that extended the lead back to 14 points (68-54) with 7:36 to play. Saint Michael's worked its deficit back into single digits again and after a pair of Keating free throws, the Ravens lead was six (73-67) with 1:08 to play. However, Franklin Pierce hit five-straight free-throws in the final minute to ice the win and held the Purple Knights to just a B.J. Robertsonjumper with 30-seconds to play for their lone field goal over the final three-minutes. Franklin Pierce (4-8, 2-5 NE-10) returns to action on Wednesday, when it hosts Pace University at 7:30 p.m. Saint Michael's (2-9, 0-8 NE-10) visits Bentley on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. |
