Bryant Outlasts
Franklin Pierce in Overtime, 76-68 SMITHFIELD, R.I. (January 18, 2003) - Franklin Pierce was held without a field goal in overtime and suffered a 76-68 loss to Bryant College in Northeast-10 Conference men's basketball action at the Bryant Athletics Center this afternoon. Franklin Pierce was outscored, 11-3, in the extra period as it missed all four field goal attempts (three coming from three-point range). The Ravens hit three-of-four from the line in overtime, but Bryant canned 9-10 from the charity stripe. Franklin Pierce shot 44-percent (11-25) from the field in the first half to build a 36-32 halftime advantage, but shot just 29.6% (8-27) over the final 25-minutes of the game. The game featured 14 lead changes and 18 ties, with the largest lead of the game a nine-point (43-34) Franklin Pierce cushion at the 17:27-mark of the second period. Bryant used a 9-1 run over the next two-minutes to trim the lead to one-point (44-43) with 15:39 to play. Freshman forward Dan Hammond sparked the rally with back-to-back lay-ups. The Ravens lead was back to three-points (48-45) with 12:41 to play after a Justin Powell (Brookline, Mass./Brookline) lay-in. The Bulldogs answered with a three-pointer from senior Jon Wallace (Monroeville, Pa./Vincentian) for the first of six ties in the second half.
The hosts held a 57-56 advantage with 5:25 left in regulation when the Ravens used a 9-3 run for a five-point lead (65-60) with 1:48 left on the clock. Junior Jimmie Hunt (Utica, N.Y./Mount Ararat (Maine)) led the charge with four points. A Gouty Gaye jumper trimmed the lead to two with 48-seconds to play, then after Mike Williams blocked a Hunt jumper, Gaye collected the rebound and drove to the other end for a lay-up with nine-seconds left to knot the score. Franklin Pierce had one last chance to avoid overtime, but Derek Rodgerson (Newburgh, Maine/Hampden Academy) missed a three-pointer at the buzzer. Gaye continued to lead the Bulldogs in overtime as he netted eight of their 11 points in the final five minutes. He finished with a season-high 14 points, aided by an 8-8 effort at the line, four rebounds, two assists and two steals in 24 minutes off the bench.
Williams, who hit 6-8 shots from the field and canned 8-11 free throws for 20 points to go with seven rebounds and four blocks, led Bryant. Junior Jason Noel added 16 points, while Hammond chipped in eight points and seven rebounds - six coming on the offensive glass. Rodgerson led Franklin Pierce with a game-high 21 points - 20 of which came in the first half. He hit 7-11 shots from the field (7-9 in the opening half), including 2-3 from three-point range. Hunt finished with 18 points and seven rebounds, while Powell chipped in 15 points and eight boards (four offensive). Franklin Pierce (6-10, 4-7 NE-10) returns home on Monday to host Assumption College at 7:30 p.m. Bryant (9-9, 5-6 NE-10) hosts No. 2-ranked UMass Lowell on Monday at 7:30 p.m. |
