Sandiford records double-double

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (January 30, 2016) – Junior guard Matt Banton (Brooklyn, N.Y.) hit a quartet of three-pointers on Saturday afternoon, but it was his layup with 52 seconds to play which helped put the game away for the Franklin Pierce University men's basketball team. Banton finished with a game-high 16 points and the Ravens came from as many as 16 back to pick up a 66-63 win on the road at Le Moyne, in Northeast-10 Conference play at Ted Grant Court.

With the win, Franklin Pierce improves to 11-8 (8-6 Northeast-10), while Le Moyne falls to 6-13 (4-10 Northeast-10).

The Ravens opened the game on a 7-2 run over the opening two-and-a-half minutes on Saturday, with senior guard Tyler Iacuone (Mahopac, N.Y.) providing five of the points on a three-pointer and a layup. Le Moyne responded with a 13-3 run of its own over the next six-plus minutes, surging to a 15-10 lead on a three-pointer by senior guard Qwadere Lovell with 11:14 to play in the half. Four different Dolphins had buckets during the run.

Franklin Pierce would close the gap to 19-17 on a layup by sophomore forward Asante Sandiford (Boston, Mass.) with 7:22 left before halftime, but Le Moyne finished the half on a 12-5 run to stretch the halftime lead to nine points, at 31-22. The run had been a 12-2 push, making it a 12-point game, but sophomore guard Dustin Cole (Standish, Maine) fired the period's final salvo, hitting a three-pointer with 1:38 to play.

The lead stayed between nine and 13 points throughout the opening 10 minutes of the second half, before Le Moyne stretched it to as much as 16 points, at 52-36, after a pair of free throws from sophomore forward Daniel Kaigler. With the Dolphins leading by 15 (54-39) with 7:49 to play, the Ravens began their comeback. A three-pointer from junior guard Matt Banton (Brooklyn, N.Y.) kick started a 13-0 Ravens run, which featured a trio of Banton threes, a Sandiford dunk and a layup from junior guard Donte Gittens (Hartford, Conn.).

The spurt cut the gap to 54-52 with 4:48 to play, and the Ravens would eventually strike for the lead, at 58-56, on a three-pointer by Sandiford with 3:30 to play. Lovell immediately answered with a jumper at the other end of the floor to level the score at 58-58 with 3:14 remaining. Franklin Pierce sophomore center Mike McDevitt (Cumberland, Maine) was fouled on the next possession and hit both free throws to put the Ravens out front, 60-58, with 2:50 to play.

Thanks to a series of misses and turnovers, the game would go without further scoring until the final minute of the second half. After a missed jump shot by Le Moyne senior forward Connor Mahoney, Banton put home a layup with 52 seconds to go to make it 62-58. However, Banton then committed a foul, which sent Lovell to the line for a pair of free throws, cutting the lead to 62-60 with 44 seconds remaining.

Fortunately for the Ravens, Le Moyne was forced to result to fouling with time running down. Iacuone and Sandiford both sank a pair of free throws in the final 16 seconds, which made Lovell's three on the game's final possession irrelevant, as Franklin Pierce came away with the 66-63 win.

Banton led the way for Franklin Pierce with 16 points off the bench on 6-for-11 from the floor, including 4-for-7 from long range. Sandiford added a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double, while Iacuone chipped in 14 points.

For Le Moyne, Lovell was the leading scorer, with 12 points, though he went just 3-for-11 from the floor. Kaigler added 11 points on 4-for-8 from the floor and 3-for-5 from the foul line. On the glass, sophomore guard Russell Sangster snagged a game-high 11 rebounds.

The Ravens return to the court on Wednesday, Feb. 3, when they return home to host Saint Anselm in a Northeast-10 Conference contest. Opening tip is set for 7:30 p.m. at the Fieldhouse in Rindge.

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).