Adrianos Vourliotakis Perdikaris adds 21 points

RINDGE, N.H. (January 11, 2014) – Junior forward Ryen Vilmont (Philadelphia, Pa.) pumped in a career-high 32 points to lead the No. 16 nationally ranked Franklin Pierce University men’s basketball team to an 85-83 win over Saint Rose on Saturday afternoon at The Fieldhouse in Rindge.

The Ravens improved to 12-2 overall and 7-2 in the Northeast-10, while the Golden Knights dipped to 8-7 and 5-4 in league play. The win also kept the Ravens from dropping back-to-back games for the first in two full calendar years.

Vilmont’s career-high point total came on an 8-of-13 shooting clip from the field, including a 6-of-10 effort from three-point range. And while the Ravens as a team struggled shooting from the foul line (18-of-30, 60%), Vilmont was not plagued by the woes as he was 10-for-10.

Vilmont had 15 points in the second half alone and came up with multiple crucial three-pointers to keep the decision in Franklin Pierce’s favor. His three just minutes into the stanza stemmed an opening 7-0 surge by Saint Rose and allowed the Ravens to tie the game at 44-44. He bombed in a triple with 6:23 left to snap a 64-all tie, which also sparked an 11-2 run by the Ravens, who would never trail the rest of the way.

But as Saint Rose continually hung around in the closing minutes, Vilmont would not allow the Golden Knights to take the lead as he was a cool 6-for-6 from the foul line in the final :59.

The 11-2 run that was started by Vilmont was aided by five-consecutive points from senior guard Curtis Christian (Harlem, N.Y.) on a deep three from the right corner of the baseline and a pair of free throws.

Senior forward Adrianos Vourliotakis Perdikaris (Cholargos, Athens) also came up huge offensively for the Ravens, as he poured in a season-high 21 points. He had eight points in the second half, including a trio of layups immediately following Vilmont’s tying three moments into the stanza. Those easy looks inside allowed the Ravens to stabilize themselves for the remainder of the half before the ensuing 11-2 run put them in control.

Classmate Ellis Cooper (Northampton, Mass.) overcame a slow start offensively by scoring 10 of his 13 points in the second half, mixing in baskets around Vilmont’s three-point shooting and Vourliotakis’ inside work.

Both teams put on an offensive show, with Saint Rose connecting on 50 percent of its attempts, while the Ravens were right behind at 49 percent.

Dominykas Milka netted a team-high 23 points for the Golden Knights, while Tyler Sayre added 17. Chris Dorgler came off the pine to contribute 11 points.

The opening minutes of the game went back and forth with four ties and eight lead changes. Franklin Pierce then used an 8-2 run midway through the frame, kick-started by a layup from Vourliotakis, to take a 28-22 lead before heading into the locker room with a 41-37 edge at the break.

Vilmont had 17 in the first half, while Vourliotakis netted 13.

Franklin Pierce returns to action next Saturday when the Ravens travel to face New Haven at 1:30 p.m. in West Haven, Conn.

For more information on Franklin Pierce men’s basketball, please visit the team’s page at http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu. To follow the program even further, please visit Franklin Pierce Athletics on YouTube (www.youtube.com/FranklinPierceSports), Twitter (www.twitter.com/FPUathletics) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce men’s basketball apparel can do so on the athletic department’s online store at http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store(.)