Ellis Cooper powers his way for a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds

RINDGE, N.H. (November 13, 2013) – The Franklin Pierce University men’s basketball team shook off a sluggish start Wednesday night, and scored 50 second-half points on the way to an 86-51 win over Lesley at The Fieldhouse in Rindge, N.H. The Ravens improved to 3-0, while the Lynx fell to 0-1.

Senior forward Ellis Cooper (Northampton, Mass.) and junior Ryen Vilmont (Philadelphia, Pa.) were the two double-figure scorers for the Ravens with 15 and 11 points, respectively. Cooper logged his third-consecutive double-double with 11 rebounds.

The Ravens’ love of the three-point shot in the early stages of the game got them in trouble. Shooting just 18 percent initially from beyond the arc, enabled the undermanned Lynx to take a 23-17 lead midway through the opening half.

Vilmont, who was one of the struggling Raven shooters in the opening minutes, finally began to right himself and kick-started a rally with five-straight points on a layup and three-pointer. He wound up scoring all 11 of his points to highlight a furious closing surge by Franklin Pierce in the waning minutes of the half.

Vilmont’s rising offensive play gave some confidence to other Ravens. Freshman guard Donte Gittens (Hartford, Conn.) tossed in a couple layups, and classmate Ben Mead (Ipswich, Suffolk, England) added a basket as well, as Franklin Pierce closed out the final 8:07 of the half on a 19-4 run to take a 36-27 lead into the locker room at halftime.

The closing surge staggered Lesley, and Cooper’s rugged play in the low post in the opening minutes of the second half was the body blow that knocked out the Lynx for good. He took control of the glass on the defensive end, and drew several fouls in the low post, thus sending him to the foul line where he made four-straight free throws to go along with a layup to put the Ravens up 52-32 with 14:06 remaining.

Cooper’s double-double came on a night when he was honored prior to the game for scoring his 1,000^th career point in the first round of last season’s NCAA Tournament. Wednesday night’s game marked the first time Cooper and Ravens were playing in front of their home fans after last season’s magical ride to the NCAA East Regional Championship and the Elite Eight.

Franklin Pierce continued to push the pace, which allowed head coach David Chadbourne to empty the bench. All 12 Ravens that played in the game scored, as Franklin Pierce led by as much as 35 points in the second half.

Senior guard Georgios Papapetrou (Athens, Greece) came off the bench to drop in nine points, while Gittens, senior guard Andre Blackwood (Paterson, N.J.), and classmate Scotty Tavares-Taylor (Roxbury, Mass.) each added eight. A pair of Ravens also scored their first collegiate points in a Franklin Pierce uniform, as junior forward Aboubacar Casse (Dakar, Senegal) and senior forward Ndubisi Ezeigwe (Brockton, Mass.) each bombed in a three-pointer.

Franklin Pierce held a 57-39 advantage on the boards, and also got seven rebounds from senior Curtis Christian (Harlem, N.Y.). Eight Ravens had at least four rebounds apiece.

Franklin Pierce returns to action Friday when it travels to Colchester, Vt. to take part in the Saint Michael’s Tip-Off Tournament. The Ravens will face LIU Post on Friday at 5:30 p.m., followed by a showdown with Molloy on Saturday at 4 p.m.

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(.)