Southern N.H. Shoots Past 
Franklin Pierce in Opener, 72-54
McLellan leads Ravens with 16 points 
in collegiate debut

MANCHESTER, N.H. (November 18, 2003) – Southern New Hampshire University hit 48.3-percent of its shots from the field to expand upon a nine-point halftime advantage and post a 72-54 victory over Franklin Pierce as both teams opened their season with Northeast-10 Conference men’s basketball action at the SNHU Fieldhouse tonight.

            Sophomore guard Miguel Gonzalez (Jamaica, N.Y./Holy Cross) netted a career-best 19 points in 21 minutes off the bench for Southern New Hampshire and he hit six-of-ten from the field, including 4-7 from three-point range. Senior guard Mark Yeaton (Concord, N.H./New Hampshire) nearly notched a double-double as he added 16 points, on 6-12 shooting, and nine rebounds. Sophomore P.J. Young (Manchester, N.H./Central) chipped in 13 points and eight rebounds.            

Franklin Pierce was led by freshman point guard Ryan McLellan (Newport, Maine/Nokomis) with 16 points and four rebounds in his collegiate debut. Senior Preseason All-American Jimmie Hunt (Utica, N.Y./Mount Ararat (Maine)) registered a double-double as he totaled ten points, despite a 3-11 shooting effort from the field, and a game-best ten rebounds to go with three assists. Sophomore Justin Powell (Brookline, Mass./Brookline) chipped in nine points and six boards (four offensive).

            The Ravens were done in by a 25.8-percent (17-66) shooting effort from the field, including 22.2% (8-36) in the second half, while the Penmen hit 43.9% (25-57) of their shots from the floor on the night, including 48.3% (14-29) over the final 20-minutes. Franklin Pierce also hit for just 29.2% (7-24) from three-point range.

            After Southern New Hampshire held a 35-26 lead at the intermission, the Penmen extended the lead to 14 points (45-31) just 3:42 into the second half. A McLellan three-pointer with 14:48 left cut the Ravens deficit to eight points (47-39), but they would get no closer as SNHU reeled off a 13-3 run to extend their lead to 18 points with 8:20 to play. Gonzalez sparked the run with four three-pointers over the six minute span.

            Franklin Pierce (0-1, 0-1 NE-10) returns to action on Saturday at the Purple Knight Classic, when it faces host University of Bridgeport at 7:30 p.m. SNHU (1-0, 1-0 NE-10) is off until Sunday, November 30, when it visits Bentley College at 2 p.m.

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