Men's Basketball 2/13/2013 12:00:00 AM

PREVIEW: Men's Hoop Battles Franklin Pierce Wednesday

SNHU (13-8, 9-8 Northeast-10)
vs.
Franklin Pierce (16-5, 13-4 Northeast-10)
Wednesday, February 13, 2013 - 7:30 pm
SNHU Fieldhouse - Manchester, N.H.

THE MATCHUP: Southern New Hampshire hosts Franklin Pierce Wednesday night, looking for its first win over the Ravens since 2011.

THE COACHES: Stan Spirou is in his 28th season as head coach at Southern New Hampshire...he owns a 535-287 (.651) career record in 27-plus seasons at the helm...Spirou was honored as the New England Collegiate Conference Coach of the Year four times (1993, 94, 95, 99) and has led the Penmen to 14 NCAA Tournaments, four NCAA Regional titles and fourteen 20 win seasons...David Chadbourne is in his 14th season at the helm of the Franklin Pierce men's program...prior to that he coached the Raven women for three seasons and led them to an NCAA berth in 1999...he has compiled a 188-197 record in 13-plus years with the FPU men.

THE SERIES:Southern New Hampshire owns a 61-24 lead in the all-time series with Franklin Pierce...the Ravens have won the last three meetings, including an 83-73 win in Rindge earlier this season...the hosts broke open a tight game with late runs of 13-2 and 11-2...Ellis Cooper paced the Ravens with 18 points and seven rebounds, while CJ Marriro had 14 points and Elijah Bonsignore 12 for the Penmen.

THE PENMEN: Southern New Hampshire downed UMass Lowell 85-73 on the road Sunday afternoon...an extremely balanced Penmen offense is led by freshman Rodney Sanders, junior Mike Stys and sophomore BJ Cardarelli...Sanders and Stys are averaging 11.9 ppg, while Cardarelli is averaging 11.8 ppg...Sanders is grabbing 4.4 rebounds per game, while Stys and Cardarelli lead the team in three-pointers with 38 and 36, respectively...Elijah Bonsignore has a team-high 29 blocked shots and is averaging 9.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game, while CJ Marriro leads SNHU in rebounding (5.4 rpg) and assists (3.4 apg) and is scoring at an 8.1 ppg clip...Aleksandar Dobrovic is adding 8.1 points and 4.4 rebounds per game...SNHU is shooting .406 overall, .347 behind the arc and .691 at the free throw line while opponents are shooting .428 overall and .299 from three...the Penmen are scoring 66.6 ppg while allowing 64.9 and getting outrebounded 36.3-35.5.

THE RAVENS: Franklin Pierce has won four in a row and is coming off a 69-60 win at Saint Michael's Saturday...the Ravens are led by Eric Jean-Guillaume and Ellis Cooper...Jean-Guillaume, the 2011-12 NE-10 Player of the Year, is averaging 15.0 points and 3.5 assists per game, while Cooper is averaging 12.8 points and a team-best 6.4 rebounds per game...Cooper is shooting 55.3% from the floor...Ryen Vilmont has connected on a team-high 37 three-pointers and is scoring at an 11.7 ppg clip...Franklin Pierce is shooting .462 overall, .356 behind the arc and .725 at the free throw line while allowing opponents to shoot .410 overall and .335 from long range...the Ravens are scoring 72.6 ppg while allowing 64.8 and are nearly even in the rebounding category, grabbing 35.4 while allowing 35.5 caroms per contest.