RINDGE, N.H. (February 18, 2017) – The Franklin Pierce University men's basketball team constantly made the extra pass and found open teammates as they handed out 22 assists on 30 field goal conversions in a 81-69 victory over Northeast-10 Conference opponent Merrimack College on Saturday afternoon in The Fieldhouse. The win, the Crimson and Grey's fourth in their last five contests moves them to 14-12, 11-9 NE10 and the loss sends the Warriors to 18-9, 12-8 NE10.

With the victory, the Ravens have clinched a spot in the 2017 NE10 Men's Basketball Championship. Currently, the Crimson and Grey sit in fourth place in the Northeast Division Standings at 11-9 and trail Saint Anselm and Merrimack by one game for the second and third seeds. The team will learn more about their potential playoff matchup after Tuesday's games.

This afternoon against Merrimack was the sixth game of the men's team Coaches vs. Cancer 3-Point Challenge. FPU converted 7-of-23 (30.4%) from long range meaning $59.50 has been donated to the American Cancer Society. Since the challenge began two weeks ago, the Crimson and Grey have gone 48-of-124 (38.7%) from deep and have amassed a total of $408.00 to the ACS. To make a pledge for the Coaches vs. Cancer 3-Point Challenge please click here.

In a pregame ceremony, the men's team honored their four seniors, Marvilio Berroa (Bronx, N.Y.), Donte Gittens (Hartford, Conn.), Ben Mead (Ipswich, England) and Matt Banton (Brooklyn, N.Y.) for their contributions to the university and its athletic department. All of the seniors earned the start on this special afternoon.

Berroa stepped up in a big way on Senior Day as he notched a career-high 18 points on 7-of-10 (70.0%) shooting including a 3-of-5 (60.0%) performance from long range. Berroa also handed out a personal-best five assists in the win. Banton added 15 points, tied a personal-high with eight rebounds and dished out three assists. Gittens almost recorded a triple-double as he manufactured six points, nine helpers and eight boards. The senior captain also blocked three shots and came up with two steals.

Teammate Mike McDevitt (Cumberland, Maine) matched a career-high with 24 points on 9-of-14 (64.3%) shooting while grabbing five boards and coming up with one steal. Over the past four contests, the junior forward has averaged 19.3 points, on 29-of-48 (60.4%) field goal conversions to go along with 5.3 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 1.0 blocks per game.

Fresh off his career-effort on Wednesday, Jordan Lackey (South Plainfield, N.J.) continued his strong play with 14 points, six caroms, two assists and one steal off the bench while burying 6-of-10 (60.0%) of his shot attempts.

The Warriors were led by freshman standout Juvaris Hayes who led the Merrimack attack with an all-around effort of 18 points, nine rebounds, six assists and four steals. Ryan Boutler joined Hayes in double figures with 16 points. Anthony Barry recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.

The Ravens willingness to make the extra pass to the open man resulted in high percentage shots as FPU connected on 30-of-57 (52.6%) of their attempts compared to the guests 26-of-70 (37.1%) performance. The hosts also outrebounded their counterparts by a 48-to-32 margin. Merrimack scored the first points of the contest, but lead for only the opening 10 seconds.

The Ravens started out the game fast with a 9-2 scoring binge as McDevitt tallied seven of the run's nine points off a layup, a jumper and a downtown conversion. Hayes temporarily tried to swing the early momentum back to the Merrimack side with a layup, but Gittens blocked a Kyle Howes layup, Banton raced down the floor, passed the ball Gittens who drove baseline then kicked the rock to Berroa in the corner for a trey which improved the Raven lead to eight, 12-4.

Ahead by seven at the 11:09 mark, Banton drained a three off a Gittens feed to give FPU their first double digit lead of the contest. Howes then split two free throws that led to Banton grabbing the rock and driving down the right side of the floor to the right wing where he hit a three from three feet behind the line in transition that moved the Ravens ahead by 12.

Two Boulter lay-ins a minute apart decreased the Warrior deficit to two possessions at 30-24. The Ravens retorted with eight consecutive points on two McDevitt free throws and two Berroa three pointers, one off a Banton driving dish which gave the Crimson and Grey their largest lead of the first half at 38-24.

With 48 ticks left in the half, Boulter drained a three to bring the Warriors within eight, until Lackey had the last word by swishing home a baseline jumper as the horn sounded to push Pierce's lead to 10, 44-34 at the intermission.

Berroa scored 11 of his 18 points during the first half of play while the Raven defense did their job containing Boulter in the second stanza as they held the sharpshooter to only three points on 1-of-6 (16.7%) shooting in the second half.

FPU continued to add onto their sizeable lead in the second half as they opened up a 14 point lead once again on two Gittens charity stripe connections. An 8-2 mini Warrior run led by two three balls from Devon Moore and Jaleel Lord brought the deficit back down to eight at 50-42 with 15:14 left.

Franklin Pierce moved back ahead by 13 twice on a Banton jumper and a Lackey layup. Five in a row by the guests brought the Raven lead to eight on a Troy McLaughlin layup. Following the McLaughlin make, the hosts notched eight straight points with a McDevitt layup moving the advantage to a game high 16, 66-50 with 7:32 left.

Over the next four minutes, Merrimack battled back with an 11-1 run to make it a two possession game as Hayes converted a transition layup off a Boulter theft. Looking to cool off the Warriors hot shooting, Asante Sandiford (Boston, Mass.), Banton and McDevitt combined for the next seven points to foil a potential Warrior comeback.

The Ravens wrap up the regular season on Tuesday when they travel to NE10 opponent Assumption for a 7:30 p.m. tip-off.

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).