MANCHESTER, N.H. – Ryen Vilmont totaled 20 points as Franklin Pierce University posted a 72-67 Northeast-10 men's basketball victory over Southern New Hampshire University at the SNHU Fieldhouse Wednesday night.  The Ravens won their fifth straight to improve to 7-1 and 3-1 in the NE-10, while the Penmen fall to 4-2 and 2-2 in the league.

Vilmont, who totaled 13 of his points in the first half, finished 3-5 behind the arc and 5-11 overall while also knocking down seven of his eight free throw attempts.  Eric Jean-Guillaume finished with 16 points, seven rebounds and four steals, while Adedamola Abu added 10 points and six boards.

Greg DeSantis (Trumbull, Conn.) led the Penmen with a season-high 17 points, going 6-10 from the floor, while also handing out four assists.  Aleksandar Dobrovic (Podgorica, Montenegro) finished with 15 points on 6-8 shooting, but was limited to just 19 minutes due to foul trouble before fouling out with just under five minutes remaining.  Tory Stapleton (Rahway, N.J.), Lucas Croteau (Rochester, N.H.) and BJ Cardarelli (Manchester, Conn.) each contributed eight points.

Franklin Pierce, which trailed by as many as 13 points in the first half, took control of the game with a late 11-3 run capped by a long three by Jean-Guillaume as the shot clock nearly expired with 2:45 left that made it 67-59.  The Ravens took their largest lead 26 seconds later when Jean-Guillaume made 1-of-2 at the line to push the lead to nine.

The Penmen would chip away at the lead and a long three by DeSantis with 16 seconds remaining made it a 70-67 contest.  SNHU was forced to foul and Vilmont made two with 10 seconds left to make it 72-67, and two final attempts by the hosts were off the mark.

The second half saw five ties and three lead changes with neither side leading by more than four points until Franklin Pierce's late run.  Southern New Hampshire led 38-36 at halftime and took a pair of four-point leads early in the frame.

Southern New Hampshire led nearly the whole first half and used an 12-4 run highlighted by a breakaway dunk by Elijah Bonsignore (Felton, Del.) at the 11:50 mark and capped by a CJ Marriro (Boston, Mass.) free throw at 9:49 to build a 28-15 lead.  The Ravens countered with 14 unanswered points and a three by Vilmont with 5:43 left gave FPU its first lead of the game, 29-28.  The lead was short-lived, as Dobrovic knocked down a three on SNHU's next possession to make it 31-29.

The Penmen would rebuild a seven-point lead, 38-31, with just over two minutes remaining before halftime when Dobrovic completed a conventional three-point play.  Franklin Pierce held SNHU scoreless the rest of the way and pulled within two, 38-36, at the break.

Southern New Hampshire shot 53.6% (15-28) in the opening 20 minutes but was held to just 31% shooting in the second half and 42.1% for the game.  The Ravens took 15 more trips to the free throw line and was 22-31 at the stripe while the Penmen were 11-16.  Franklin Pierce, which was outrebounded 36-33, knocked down six of its 14 three-point attempts and committed just 11 turnovers.

SNHU returns to action on Saturday afternoon when it travels to Bentley University for a 3:30 Northeast-10 contest.