RINDGE, N.H. (November 24, 2015) – Sophomore Mike McDevitt (Cumberland, Maine) put on a shooting display at the Fieldhouse Tuesday night, as he went 10-14 from the floor, including 3-4 from behind the arc en route to 23 points as the Franklin Pierce University Ravens Men's Basketball team defeated the Southern New Hampshire University Penmen by a final score of 80-70.

With the win, the Ravens are now 3-1 on the season (2-0 Northeast-10) and stay atop the conference standings, while Southern New Hampshire drops to 3-3 (0-2 Northeast-10) on the season.

With fouls abound all night, 48 between the two squads, free throws became a major factor down the stretch. The final two minutes of the game proved critical in that department for the Ravens, who were able to sink from the charity stripe at a 16-23 clip (69.6 percent), while Southern New Hampshire converted at 23-36 (63.9 percent) despite more opportunities.

The first five minutes of the game hung in the balance between both teams, as they each got a taste of a lead, while mostly playing through a tie ballgame. Including a three-pointer by Rodney Sanders that helped Southern New Hampshire tie the game at 10-10, the Penmen would go on a 10-0 run that was capped by a pair of free throws by Chris Walters with 11:20 to play in the first half, putting the score at 17-10.

Franklin Pierce had other ideas though, as over the next minute they charged back with a run of their own. They went with an 8-0 spark that was fueled by a couple buckets from junior Donte Gittens (Hartford, Conn.), a big three-pointer from sophomore Dustin Cole (Standish, Maine), and capped by a layup from junior Marvilio Berroa (Bronx, N.Y.). That gave the Ravens an 18-17 lead with 9:43 to play in the first half.

The lead would continue to see-saw back and forth for the remainder of the half, as Franklin Pierce capitalized in the paint with 22 points in the box for the half. It would be a slight three point Ravens lead going into the half, 32-29.

The Penman entered the second half with vengeance, taking care of a defensively sluggish Ravens team. 15-6 run in the first four minutes of the half, going down 44-38. Then McDevitt caught fire, and Gittens also stepped up, notching baskets in the next six minutes and going on a 18-1 run to take a 56-45 lead with 10:18 to play. The run was capped by senior Tyler Iacuone (Mahopac, N.Y.) who drained a three-pointer to take the 11 point lead.

The Ravens continued to pile on the points, as they extended their lead out to as much as 15 points, a 67-52 lead with just 3:43 remaining in the game.

The ensuing minutes of the game then were stretched thin by Southern New Hampshire, as they began a foul spree to put Franklin Pierce at the line for the final three minutes of the game. The Penmen used this to their advantage, attempting to climb back within a two-possession game. The final minutes also saw three Ravens leave the game due to fouls in McDevitt, Iacuone, and sophomore Asante Sandiford (Boston, Mass.).

Luckily for strong free throw shooting and mediocre time management, the Ravens never allowed the Penmen to crawl back under seven points away, as the shut the door down the stretch and collected the 10 point win, 80-70.

The crimson and grey dominated the paint, scoring 32 of their 80 points from there, compared to 28 from Southern New Hampshire, a majority of those being in the second half. Franklin Pierce also converted 19 points off of turnovers, and contributed 12 bench points as well. But the tale of the tape was the Ravens three-point shooting, while went from 3-12 in the first half to 5-6 in the second half, with much help from McDevitt in that department.

McDevitt chipped in six rebounds with his game-high 23 points, while Gittens also eclipsed the 20 mark with that much, including going 7-8 from the free throw line and notching three blocks. Iacuone also added 11 points, both Sandiford and Berroa were big on the boards, with Sandiford grabbing a team-high seven rebounds and Berroa with six.

Sanders led the way for Southern New Hampshire with 19 points on 8-12 shooting from the floor. Devin Gilligan grabbed a slash line of 14 points and seven rebounds, while Chris Walters collected a double-double with 13 points, 10 rebounds, while contributing some highlight dunks. Daquaise Andrews and Adrian Oliveira each added double-digit points as well, with 11 and 10, respectively.

Turnovers were a problem for both squads as well, with the Penmen putting up 17 total while the Ravens weren't far behind with 14.

The Ravens return to action after the holiday, as the travel to Stonehill on Wednesday, December 2. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m.

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 volleyball apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).