Franklin
Pierce to Travel RINDGE,
N.H. (February 25, 2004) –
Tenth-seeded Franklin Pierce will face No. 7-seeded College of Saint
Rose in first round action of the 2004 Northeast-10 Conference men’s
basketball tournament on Saturday at 2 p.m. The game will be played at
Sage College of Albany due to continued renovations being made to
Saint Rose’s home facility. While
most of the NE-10 Tournament field was determined during last
night’s regularly-scheduled season finales, the No. 2 through 5
seeds are pending the result of Thursday’s makeup game between
Southern New Hampshire University and Stonehill College. Saturday
will mark the 16th meeting all-time between these two
programs and the second in postseason play with both coming in the
first round of the NE-10 Tournament. Franklin Pierce holds an 8-7 lead
in the all-time series, but Saint Rose won the previous postseason
encounter with a 79-78 overtime victory in Albany in the first round
of the 2002 NE-10 Tournament. Current senior Jesse Cort (Red Hook, N.Y./Red Hook) led a Saint Rose rally from seven points down with 3:33 left in regulation with two three-pointers in the final 1:05 and added a third in the extra period which proved to be the winning shot with 27-seconds to play. He finished with 19 points, aided by a three-for six effort from three-point range, seven rebounds (three offensive) and four assists. Phil Sellers netted a game-high 26 points, aided by a 10-13 effort at the free-throw line, six rebounds (five offensive) and five steals for the Golden Knights. Alfonso Payne led Franklin Pierce with a career-high 21 points as he drained 4-7 three-point attempts to go along with seven rebounds (three offensive) in his final collegiate game.
The
Golden Knights claimed a 92-83 victory over the Ravens in their only
regular season encounter of the 2003-04 season at the Franklin Pierce
Fieldhouse. Then No. 21-ranked Saint Rose and Franklin Pierce combined
for nearly 150 shots from the field, including 56 from three-point
range, however the Golden Knights connected on 54.7-percent (35-64) of
their field goal attempts, including 12-25 (48%) from three-point
range, while the Ravens shot just 41% (34-83) from the field, 22.6%
(7-31) from long-distance. Sophomore
guard Brad Shove (Pittsfield, Mass./Pittsfield) led all
scorers with 27 points as he drained 9-16 shots from the field,
including 7-11 from downtown, to go with three rebounds and three
assists to lead Saint Rose. Junior Kyl Jones (Elmsford,
N.Y./Pleasantville) hit 7-9 shots from the floor, including
3-4 from three-point range, and canned both free-throw attempts for 19
points to go with five rebounds and a pair of blocks. Senior
preseason All-American Jimmie Hunt (Utica, N.Y./Mount Ararat
(Maine)) led Franklin Pierce with 24 points as he hit 9-17
shots from the field to go with four boards. Classmate Derek
Rodgerson (Newburgh, Maine/Hampden Academy) totaled 15 points
(12 second half), while five-foot, 11-inch, freshman point guard Darryl
Minifield (Brookline, Mass./Brookline) led the Ravens in
rebounding for the fifth time, finishing with a game and then
season-best 11 boards (five offensive) to go with six points, three
assists and three steals.
Franklin
Pierce enters the postseason on a bit of a roll having won seven of
its last ten. Hunt has led the Ravens down the stretch as their
leading scorer in five-straight and 12 of their last 14 games. The
preseason All-American is averaging 17.2 points (7th
NE-10), 6.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game this season. Hunt is
shooting 43.3-percent (140-323) from the field, including 41.3%
(64-155), and converting 85.2% (121-142) of his free-throw attempts,
which ranks fourth in the NE-10. Rodgerson
is averaging 15 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.4 steals per
game. He is shooting 44.1% (146-331) from the field, including a
team-best 44% (62-141) from long-distance (8th NE-10), to
go with a Conference-best 91.1% (51-56) from the line. Sophomore Justin
Powell (Brookline, Mass./Brookline) is adding 8.2 points and
4.3 rebounds per contest. Minifield
has made an immediate impact for the Ravens in his first collegiate
season, averaging seven points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.5 assists and and
team-best 1.5 steals per game. Since joining the starting lineup after
the holiday break, he is averaging a team-best 5.9 rebounds, 3.1
assists and 1.7 steals to go with 8.6 points over that 20-game span.
Saint
Rose enters the NE-10 Tournament winners of three-straight after it
had dropped it previous three games. The Golden Knights opened the
season winners of ten of its first 11. Shove
leads four Saint Rose players averaging double-figures in scoring at
13.4 points per game to go with four rebounds and 2.3 assists per
contest. Junior guard Terry George (Buffalo, N.Y./Buffalo
Traditional) is adding 13.1 points and 4.6 rebounds per game
and is shooting 56.9% (136-239) from the field (5th NE-10).
Classmate Adonist Barber (Schenectady, N.Y./Schenectady) is averaging
12.5 points, aided by 58.9% (142-241) shooting from the field (2nd),
and 7.4 rebounds (6th) per outing. Cort rounds out the
double-digit scorers with 12 points, 7.3 rebounds (8th),
2.6 assists and 1.6 steals per outing. The
winner of Saturday’s game will face the No. 2 seed on the road,
which could be either Southern New Hampshire or Bentley College
pending Thursday’s game, on Monday, March 1, at 7 p.m. All Franklin
Pierce postseason games will be broadcast live on WFPC-LP 105.3 FM and
simulcast over the internet at www.franklinpierce.edu
/athletics. 2004
Northeast-10 Conference
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