No. 6 SNHU (18-10)
vs.
No. 4 Franklin Pierce (21-7)
Saturday, March 9, 2013 - 1:00 pm
The Fieldhouse - Rindge, N.H.
Northeast-10 Championship - Final
COMPLETE NOTES (PDF)
THE MATCHUP: Southern New Hampshire travels to Franklin Pierce on Saturday, with each school vying for its first Northeast-10 championship in men's basketball.
THE COACHES: Stan Spirou is in his 28th season as head coach at Southern New Hampshire...he owns a 540-289 (.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 193-199 record in 13-plus years with the FPU men.
THE SERIES:Southern New Hampshire owns a 61-25 lead in the all-time series with Franklin Pierce...the Ravens have won the last four meetings, including a pair this season... the first meeting was an 83-73 FPU 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...in the rematch in Manchester on February 13, the Penmen held an 11-point lead with 14 minutes to go, but couldn't hold on...Cooper led FPU with 14 points and seven rebounds, while Ryen Vilmont finished with 13 points and 11 boards...Aleksandar Dobrovic paced the Penmen with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Mike Stys and Rodney Sanders added 12 and 11 points, respectively.
The two teams have met six times in the postseason, with Southern New Hampshire holding a 5-1 advantage...all six meetings took place between 1991 and 1999 when both schools were members of the New England Collegiate Conference...the two teams met for the NECC crown four times between 1993 and 1999, with the Penmen taking all four meetings...SNHU prevailed 76-71 in 1993, 78-77 in 1994, 81-69 in 1998 and 82-68 in 1999.
THE PENMEN: Southern New Hampshire has won five in a row and is coming off an 81-62 win over Saint Rose in the conference semifinals Wednesday night...the Penmen are making their first NE-10 Championship appearance since the 2009-10 season...the Penmen are extremely balanced in the scoring column...freshman Rodney Sanders leads the team with his 12.0 ppg average...Sanders, who scored a career-best 22 points Wednesday night, was named to the Northeast-10 All-Rookie Team...he ranks second in the NE-10 in three-point percentage (.447) and is 42-94 behind the arc...BJ Cardarelli and Mike Stys are each scoring at an 11.6 ppg clip...Cardarelli has knocked down 48 three-pointers and is averaging 4.8 rebounds per game, while Stys has drained a team-high 53 threes...Elijah Bonsignore leads the Penmen in blocked shots (46) and is recording 9.3 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, while Aleksandar Dobrovic is adding 8.5 points and 4.4 rebounds per game...CJ Marriro leads the team in rebounding (5.2 rpg) and assists (3.2 apg) and is adding 7.6 ppg...the Penmen are shooting .415 overall, .351 behind the arc and .685 at the free throw line while allowing opponents to shoot .421 overall and .319 behind the arc...SNHU is scoring 66.8 ppg while allowing 64.7 and getting outrebounded 36.4-35.0.
THE RAVENS: Franklin Pierce advanced to its first Northeast-10 final with a 71-68 win at top-seeded Saint Anselm Wednesday night...the Ravens are led by Northeast-10 Player of the Year Eric Jean-Guillaume...Jean-Guillaume was named the league's top player for the second straight year after averaging 16.5 points per game while dishing out 3.7 assists per contest...junior Ellis Cooper, an NE-10 First Team selection, is recording 13.8 points and a team-high 7.2 rebounds per game while shooting .556 from the floor...Ryen Vilmont has knocked down a team-high 47 three-pointers and is scoring at an 11.5 ppg clip...the Ravens are shooting .457 overall, .341 behind the arc and .731 at the free throw line while allowing opponents to shoot .414 overall and .344 behind the arc...the Ravens are averaging 72.6 ppg while allowing 66.1, and are tied with teams in the rebounding column at 35.9.
