Gittens dishes out nine assists

RINDGE, N.H (January 23, 2016) – Ten three-pointers, including seven in the first half, helped the Franklin Pierce University men's basketball team build a lead as large as 12 points over Southern Connecticut State in the second half on Saturday afternoon. SCSU -- only thrice beaten on the season entering the game -- would stage a late comeback, and even take the lead briefly, but a free throw by junior guard Donte Gittens (Hartford, Conn.) with 11 seconds to play put the Ravens ahead to stay, as they posted an 81-79 victory in Northeast-10 Conference play in the Fieldhouse.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 9-8 (6-6 Northeast-10), while SCSU falls to 15-4 (10-2 Northeast-10) and sees its winning streak snapped at six games.

Trailing by eight at the half, SCSU mounted a sustained, 13-7 run over the opening four minutes of the second half to close the gap to two, at 50-48, on a layup by junior guard Michael Mallory. Mallory and senior forward Stefon Williams had four points each in the spurt.

Franklin Pierce answered immediately, rattling off the game's next 10 points to surge to a 60-48 lead with 13:30 to play, the Ravens' largest lead of the ballgame. Gittens and sophomore center Mike McDevitt (Cumberland, Maine) each hit from outside on the run, as the triples continued to fall early in the second half for Franklin Pierce. McDevitt added a jumper as well, accounting for five of the 10 points on his own.

Again the Owls fought back, this time with a quick, 8-1 run over a 90-second span. Senior forward Jack McCarthy capped the run with 9:28 to play, as he hit a layup while being fouled and converted the free throw to complete the three-point play. It was the second three-point play of the run, as freshman guard Isaiah McLeod capitalized on an and-one opportunity earlier. After the McCarthy three-point play, Franklin Pierce led by four (65-61) with nine-and-a-half minutes to play.

As the teams began trading buckets, Franklin Pierce was able to stretch the lead back out to nine with just under seven minutes to play, as junior guard Matt Banton (Brooklyn, N.Y.) buried a trifecta from the left wing while getting fouled. When he sank the free throw as well to make it a four-point play, the Ravens were now staked to a 75-66 lead.

The third SCSU comeback attempt would be the one which brought the Owls all the way back, as they rattled off 13 of the game's next 15 points over five-plus minutes to surge to a 79-77 lead with 1:05 to play, on a three-point play by Mallory. Senior guard Desmond Williams did the heavy lifting on the run, as he hit two jumpers, knocked down a three-pointer and sank two free throws to tally nine of the 13 points in the 13-2 spurt.

After Banton hit a layup to tie the game at 79, Mallory turned the ball over, putting it in the hands of the Franklin Pierce offense. The Ravens called Gittens' number, and the point guard went on a drive down the right side of the lane. He could not put his shot home, but succeeded in drawing a foul with 11 seconds to play. Gittens split the free throws to give the Ravens the lead, 80-79, and prompt an SCSU timeout.

On a drive of his own down the right side on the ensuing possession, Desmond Williams lost control of the ball and knocked it out of bounds over the end line, turning the ball over with five seconds to play. The Owls had to resort to fouling senior guard Tyler Iacuone (Mahopac, N.Y.), who split his two free throws to make it a two-point game, 81-79. After a timeout, SCSU did get a final three-point attempt for Desmond Williams, but the shot would not go, and the Ravens came away two-point winners.

Earlier in the day, Franklin Pierce hit nearly half of its three-point attempts in the first half, going 7-for-15 (46.7%) from long range while building the 43-35 halftime lead. The signature run of the half came after the midpoint of the frame, as the Ravens went on a 10-1 run of just under two minutes. McDevitt put home a pair of layups on the run, while sophomore forward Asante Sandiford (Boston, Mass.) knocked down a three-pointer.

In all, McDevitt finished with 17 points and seven rebounds on 7-for-14 shooting to lead four Ravens in double digits on the afternoon. Gittens and Sandiford each narrowly missed double-doubles with 14 points apiece, while the former added nine assists and the latter grabbed nine rebounds. Banton added 16 points on 6-for-11 shooting, including 3-for-6 from behind the arc.

For SCSU, which finished with a costly 18 turnovers, Desmond Williams led the way with 19 points on 7-for-19 from the floor and added a team-best eight rebounds as well. Mallory (16 points) and Stefon Williams (12) joined him in double digits, though the latter committed seven turnovers along the way. The Owls, who came into the game shooting 35.1% from three-point range, went just 7-for-26 (26.9%) from behind the arc on Saturday.

The Ravens return to the court on Tuesday, Jan. 26, when they travel to Pace for a Northeast-10 Conference contest. Opening tip is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Goldstein Fitness Center in Pleasantville, N.Y.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics' official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics). Fans wishing to purchase Franklin Pierce men's basketball apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).