WALTHAM, Mass. (February 11, 2017) – Franklin Pierce University senior guard Matt Banton (Brooklyn, N.Y.) poured in 18 of his game-high 26 points in the second half as the Ravens narrowly defeated Northeast-10 Conference foe Bentley University on Saturday afternoon at the Dana Center. The win, the Ravens third in a row, moves them to 13-11, 10-8 NE10. The loss sends the Falcons to 11-12, 8-10 NE10.

This afternoon at Bentley was the fourth game of the men's team Coaches vs. Cancer 3-Point Challenge. FPU converted 12-of-18 (60.8%) from long range meaning $102.00 has been donated to the American Cancer Society. Since the challenge began last Wednesday, the Crimson and Grey have gone 32-of-83 (38.6%) from deep and have amassed a total of $272.00 to the ACS. To make a pledge for the Coaches vs. Cancer 3-Point Challenge please click here.

Banton was 9-of-15 (60.0%) shooting the rock and an even more impressive 6-of-9 (66.7%) from long range. He was unconscious from the hardwood in the second half draining 6-of-9 (66.7%) from the floor and 4-of-5 (80.0%) from beyond the arc which included the game-winning three with 20 seconds remaining. Banton chipped in four assists, two rebounds as well.

Teammates Mike McDevitt (Cumberland, Maine) and Donte Gittens (Hartford, Conn.) recorded their second consecutive contest with 20 or more points as both players amassed 24 points apiece. McDevitt scored his 24 on 10-of-13 (76.9%) shooting and Gittens was 8-of-11 (72.8%) on the afternoon. Gittens led the team in assists with five and snagged four boards. McDevitt secured four rebounds and dished out one helper.

For Bentley, Ferguson Duke was one of four starters in double figures with a team-high 20 points to go along with eight rebounds and two steals. Ryan Richmond added 17 points and Brandon Wheeler double-doubled with 15 points and a game-best 14 boards.

The Ravens started each half making 15 of their first 20 shot attempts (75.0%). They also recorded their second best shooting performance of the season (31-of-51, 60.8%) and second best long range assault of the year (12-of-18, 66.7%).

However, Bentley held the edge in rebounding on the offensive end (14-to-3) which led to 13 second chance points. They also tallied 32 points in the paint compared to the Ravens 24.

Matt Barr started the scoring with a three from the left wing. McDevitt answered by matching Barr's trey with one of his own from the top of the point. The teams swapped points until Gittens took the rock from the top and slashed through the pain for the hoop and harm, Gittens knocked down the freebie to give the Ravens their first lead of the game at 8-7. Gittens kept attacking the rim as another driving take regained the lead to the guest side at 12-11 which forced Bentley into a 30 second stoppage.

Following the timeout and a defensive stop, Banton received the ball from Jordan Lackey (South Plainfield, N.J.), put the ball on the floor, dribbled in a bit and swished home a trey from the right wing to push the Pierce lead to 15-11. Barr brought the deficit to one by making a layup with contact and converting the free throw to make it a one point game.

A Wheeler lay-in ensued which regained the lead to the home side, but McDevitt drained another three from the same spot as his first conversion that put FPU ahead by two, 18-16. Point swapping continued as no team could siege momentum until Wheeler got his hand in the passing lane, stole the rock and drove by himself to the rack for two which moved Bentley ahead 22-20 as the Ravens took a 30 second timeout.

After the timeout, FPU tallied five straight off a Gittens set and shoot three from the left wing and a McDevitt baseline jumper moved the Ravens ahead by three, 25-22. The contest was scoreless over the next two and a half minutes as Duke ended the scoreless streak with a driving layup.

FPU increased their lead to four points, as Gittens threw a pass to Banton on the left wing and the senior to senior connection was good for three as the Ravens advantage grew to 32-28. Asante Sandiford (Boston, Mass.) drained two free throws which gave the Ravens their largest advantage of the first half and on the next trip down the court, Matt Turkington manufactured a three from the top of the point to cut the Raven lead in half.

Gittens went to work with an alley-oop slam and a driving contested layup for four consecutive points that made it a two possession game. Those were the last scores of the half for Franklin Pierce as Bentley notched seven in a row with Duke capping off the scoring by nailing a three to move the hosts ahead 42-40 at the break.

Gittens led all scorers at halftime with 16 points on a 6-of-8 (75.0%) shooting performance while grabbing three boards and handing out three assists. McDevitt also shot 6-of-8 (75.0%) which led to 14 points. As a team, FPU drained 15-of-27 (55.6%) from the hardwood including 5-of-8 (62.5%) from beyond the arc.

Bentley came out of the locker room by connecting on their first two shot attempts, a Duke layup and a Wheeler trey to push the advantage to seven, 47-40. The Falcons kept scoring as their lead increased to nine on a Kyle Bouchard layup down low from Duke, but Banton notched a deep three to cut the Raven deficit to six, 53-47 with 16:24 left to play. Following a timeout and a Falcon missed layup, Banton fed the rock to Gittens who cut to the hoop and converted an uncontested layup which made it a four point game.

The Falcons outscored the Ravens 9-4 over the next few possessions as Duke hit another three to bring the lead back up to nine, 62-53. The Ravens then broke out with a 15-2 run to regain the lead as Marvilio Berroa (Bronx, N.Y.) responded by connecting on a three-ball of his own to bring the Falcon lead back to six, 62-56 with 12:50 left.

The run continued through a Falcons full timeout as Dustin Cole (Standish, Maine) buried a three, Banton poured in a driving two, McDevitt made a spinning jumper in the post, the junior big man drained a jumper, Banton split one of two from the line and Berroa rose up again from the same spot as the Ravens lead 69-64 with 8:55 left.

Bentley chipped away and eventually came within one as Bouchard poured in a layup as the shot clock expired off a designed inbounds play while being fouled in the process. Bouchard missed the free throw, but McDevitt was fouled on the rebound chance. McDevitt and Gittens converted two free throws each to grow the Ravens lead back to five, 75-70.

Shot for shot they went after the free throws as a Banton trey and a McDevitt layup with contact increased the Raven lead to six with four minutes to go. The lead stayed that way as Chris Hudson missed two free throws and Barr missed a three. The board was snagged by Wheeler and eventually stolen away by Berroa who was at the bottom of a pile and somehow called timeout with 3:53 left.

Richmond knocked down two clutch free throws which brought his squad within four at 80-76 with 3:10 to go, but on the next Raven possession, Banton hit another three from the wing off a pass from the post by Lackey to increase the Raven lead to seven, 83-76. Richmond made two more from the line and after a missed three by Banton, Wheeler was fouled attempting a layup and the junior got the lay-in to fall as well as the free throw to bring the game to an 83-81 score.

The Ravens looked to add onto their lead, but McDevitt's pass was intercepted by Wheeler. Wheeler drove on the fast break, was fouled and split his free throws to make it a one point game. Like they attempted to on the last possession, the Ravens looked to add on, but Banton missed a jumper from the right baseline, the rock was free for a few moments as two tipped shots couldn't fall and Duke secured the ball.

The Falcons pushed the rock hard up the court and Richmond found space on the right side and he hit a wide open jumper which gave the lead briefly back to the home side. The Ravens took a timeout, advanced the ball and they looked for Gittens on an alley-oop, but the timing was off. Gittens tight-roped the baseline without falling out of bounds and they moved the ball out to the perimeter where Banton was standing on the right wing. The senior guard then splashed home the game-winning three which gave FPU an 87-84 lead. The Falcons had to foul and the Ravens iced the game with free-throws.

The Ravens return to The Fieldhouse on Wednesday for an NE10 showdown against Southern New Hampshire University with tip-off 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 men's basketball apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).