Donte Gittens drops in team-high 13 points for the Ravens

COLCHESTER, Vt. (November 16, 2013) – The Franklin Pierce University men’s basketball team used a second-half surge Saturday night to pull away from Molloy for an 85-72 win at the Ross Sports Center in Colchester, Vt. The Ravens improved to 5-0, while dipped to 1-3.

Franklin Pierce got yet another balanced scoring effort from its lineup, as 10 Ravens scored, including five in double-figures. Freshman guard Donte Gittens (Hartford, Conn.) tossed in a team-high 13 points, while junior Ryen Vilmont (Philadelphia, Pa.) and seniors Adrianos Vourliotakis Perdikaris (Cholargos, Athens) and Curtis Christian (Harlem, N.Y.) each chipped in with 12 points apiece. Senior Scotty Tavares-Taylor (Roxbury, Mass.) came off the bench to net 11 points on 3-of-4 shooting from three-point range.

Franklin Pierce’s balanced scoring effort was never more evident than during a 19-5 run over a seven-minute span late in the contest to turn a slim 65-61 lead for the Ravens into a comfortable 84-66 advantage with 1:50 left.

Sophomore guard Tyler Iacuone (Mahopac, N.Y.) drained a three to kick-start the surge, while Gittens added to it moments later with a three-point play on a layup and free throw. Vourliotakis aided it with three-consecutive points, and Gittens and Christian capped the game-winning surge with back-to-back layups.

The closing surge in the second half was a far cry from the latter stages of the first half, as it was Molloy who went on a furious rally to knot it up at 43-all at halftime.

The Ravens thought they were heading into halftime with a comfortable lead as they held a 40-31 lead with 3:23 to go until intermission. However, Molloy had other ideas and scored 12 of the stanza’s final 15 points. John Petrucelli, who drained a game-high 29 points, scored seven of those during the span, including a three-pointer in the final minute to tie the game.

With 10 Ravens logging in the scoring column, Franklin Pierce shot a strong 53 percent from the field (27-of-51), including a solid 45 percent from three-point range (9-of-20). It was the second-straight game the Ravens shot 45 percent or better from beyond the arc.

Franklin Pierce also held a 38-36 advantage on the glass, including eight from Vilmont and six from Christian in a reserve role.

Franklin Pierce returns to action Wednesday night when the Ravens travel back to Colchester to take on Saint Michael’s in Northeast-10 action at 7:30 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(.)