RINDGE, N.H. – Ellis Cooper totaled 17 points and 11 rebounds to lead Franklin Pierce University to an 69-59 Northeast-10 men's basketball victory over Southern New Hampshire University Sunday afternoon at The Fieldhouse. The Ravens improve to 4-8 and 2-5 in the NE-10 with the win, while the Penmen saw a three-game win streak snapped and are now 5-6 and 1-6 in the league.
Cooper, who had eight of his rebounds on the offensive end, went 8-17 from the floor and also registered five steals. Eric Jean-Guillaume and Nigel Van Oostrum each finished with 12 points and five rebounds, with Jean-Guillaume registering seven assists and Van Oostrum six. Kinard Dozier added 10 points off the bench for the Ravens.
Tory Stapleton (Rahway, N.J.) led Southern New Hampshire with 21 points and seven rebounds, going 10-16 from the floor. C.J. Marriro (Boston, Mass.) was 4-5 from the floor and totaled 12 points, while Greg DeSantis (Trumbull, Conn.) added eight points and four assists.
Down 36-34 at halftime, FPU opened the second half on a 10-4 run and a dunk by Cooper with just under 17 minutes to go gave the Ravens a 44-40 lead. SNHU countered with an 8-1 run and a three by Nikola Canic (Belgrade, Serbia) with just over 14 minutes to play gave the guests a 48-45 lead. Franklin Pierce responded with nine unanswered points and a three by Jean-Guillaume with just over eight minutes to play gave the Ravens a 54-48 lead.
SNHU would get back within two, 54-52, with just over five minutes to go on a basket by Stapleton, but FPU put the game away with an 11-2 run capped by a Jean-Guillaume layup with 2:32 left that made it 65-54. Franklin Pierce would maintain at least an eight –point lead the rest of the way.
Southern New Hampshire held a 15-12 lead when FPU reeled off 10 unanswered points, with a three by Van Oostrum with 10:31 to go in the first half giving the Ravens a 22-15 lead. The Penmen retook the lead with just under four minutes to go on a layup by DeSantis and used a 6-0 spurt to take a 36-30 lead with 1:19 left before halftime on a basket by Stapleton. Southern New Hampshire held a 36-34 halftime lead.
Franklin Pierce finished 8-23 (34.8%) behind the arc while limiting SNHU to just a 5-22 (23.1%) effort behind the arc. The Ravens, who were outrebounded 33-32, were just 13-23 at the free throw line, but took 18 more trips to the charity stripe than the guests, who converted four of their five opportunities. Neither team took care of the ball, with the Penmen committing 27 turnovers and Franklin Pierce 26.
SNHU returns to action Wednesday night when it hosts Adelphi University in a 7:30 contest at the SNHU Fieldhouse.
