Franklin Pierce Takes Down Men's Basketball 81-76

malik brown

damien rance

THE BASICS:

- Score:  Franklin Pierce 81, Assumption 76

- Record: Franklin Pierce (14-12, 10-9 NE10), Assumption (6-20, 2-17 NE10),

- Location: Worcester, Mass. (Laska Gym)

- The Lead: Assumption trailed by five at the half and pulled within three points in the final three minutes, but Franklin Pierce made its free throws late to escape with an 81-76 victory on Wednesday evening.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

- Assumption took a 3-2 lead before Franklin Pierce went on a 9-1 run to grab an 11-4 advantage five minutes into the contest. The Hounds closed the gap to five at 14-9 on a pair of Chris Crespo (Smithtown, N.Y. / Smithtown West) free throws. An 8-2 run by the Ravens pushed their lead to 22-11 midway through the period.

- Franklin Pierce led 26-13 at 7:36, before consecutive baskets by Michael Speight (Morningside, Md. / Wise / Canterbury) and Malik Brown (Waldorf, Md. / Northpoint) trimmed the deficit to nine one minute later. Five straight from the Ravens extended their lead to 12 points, 33-21, with 2:52 left in the period. Patrick Fleming (Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. / Iona Prep) ended the run with a layup, igniting a 9-2 Hound run to finish the period down just 35-30.

- The Ravens opened the second half on a 6-2 run for a 42-31 advantage less than three minutes into the period. The teams traded baskets over the next five minutes, until a 7-2 run by Franklin Pierce pushed the lead to 56-46 with 12:45 left. Assumption held the Ravens scoreless over the next three minutes and cut the lead to just 56-53 on a Damien Rance (Melbourne, Australia / Pope John XXIII / San Francisco State) layup at 9:12.

- The Hounds gave up six straight but was eventually able to trim it to 64-59 on a Matthew Kelly (North Potomac, Md. / Quince Orchard) layup with 5:22 left. Franklin Pierce answered, but Kelly eventually cut it to five again, 72-67, on a three-point play with 2:40 remaining. Brown made it a three-point game one possession later, but the Ravens made their free throws late finished the game on a 10-7 run to come away with the five-point victory.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:  

- Assumption shot 45.9 percent from the floor, but was just 6 of 22 from beyond the arc and made 14 of 19 free throws. Franklin Pierce made 53.6 percent of its shots, including 7-for-20 from downtown and 14-for-15 at the charity stripe. The Ravens held a slight 32-31 edge in rebounds.

- Kelly scored a team-high 26 points with two assists and two steals while Rance provided 23 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Brown came through with 11 points and five boards off the bench.

- Doyin Fadojutimi led Franklin Pierce with 25 points, six rebounds and two steals while Jeremy Arthur added 16 points, three rebounds and one steal.  

UP NEXT:

- Assumption returns to action on Saturday when the team hosts Stonehill at 3:30 p.m.

STAY CONNECTED:

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