RINDGE, N.H. (February 24, 2016) – The #3 Northeast Division seeded Franklin Pierce University men's basketball team will travel to Albany, N.Y. to square off against the #2 Southwest Division seed College of Saint Rose in the 2017 Northeast-10 Conference Men's Basketball Championship Quarterfinals on Sunday at the Daniel P. Nolan Gymnasium with tip-off slated for 3:00 p.m.

The Crimson and Grey qualified for the 2017 NE10 Men's Basketball Championship for the second straight season and the 13th time under head coach David Chadbourne. Last season, the Ravens suffered an 86-71 setback at the hands of Bentley University in the Quarterfinals.

This is the fifth consecutive campaign the Golden Knights have made the NE10 Tournament as they've competed for the Championship in 16 of their 17 years of league membership. Saint Rose was knocked out of the First Round over the past four seasons and last played in the Quarterfinal Round on March 3, 2013 when they defeated Assumption College 67-64. They advanced onto the Semifinal round and dropped an 81-62 contest to Southern New Hampshire University.

SCOUTING THE RAVENS

FPU earned the no. 3 seed in Northeast Division after wrapping up the season with a 15-12, 12-9 NE10 record. The Ravens are winners of five of their last six games and have outshot (52.5%-to-42.3%), outscored (86.5-to-80.5) and outrebounded (42.2-to-35.2) their opponents during this stretch. During the 5-1 stretch, senior guard and NE10 Honorable Mention choice Matt Banton (Brookyn, N.Y.) has averaged 18.0 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game while connecting on 52.6% of his field goals and 41.2% from deep. Fellow Honorable Mention selection Mike McDevitt (Cumberland, Maine) has been equally impressive over the Ravens last six duels as the junior forward has averaged 17.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks per contest and has hit on 54.8% of his shots from the hardwood.

On the year, Banton leads the team in scoring as he's averaged 16.2 points per game on 43.8% shooting and shot a 40.6% clip from long range. Asante Sandiford (Boston, Mass.) leads the Ravens in rebounds per game (7.2) and NE10 Third Team honoree Donte Gittens (Hartford, Conn.) has been a factor all year as he scores 12.5 points per game, snags 6.0 rebounds, hands out a team-high 5.7 assists, good enough for third in the conference, blocks a squad-best 1.6 shots which is third best in league play and leads the team with 1.3 steals per game.

As a team, the Crimson and Grey rank first of all NE10 teams in defense at the rim as they swat 4.3 shots per contest. They also hold opponents to the second lowest field goal percentage (42.6%) while ranking third in rebounds per game (39.3), fifth in assists (15.3), fifth in rebound margin (2.4) and sixth in scoring (80.4).

SCOUTING THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS

Saint Rose earned the no. 2 seed in the Southwest Division after finishing the season with a 23-6, 15-5 NE10 mark. The Golden Knights enter the conference tournament on a hot streak as they've won five in a row and 11 of their last 13 matchups. This past week they received votes in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Weekly National Poll and rank #2 in the Division II East Regional Ranking. The 23 victories during the 2016-17 season were the most since 2010-11 campaign where they amassed a total of 22 wins.

The Golden Knights balanced attack is led by senior forward and NE10 Second Team selection Tyler Sayre who averages a team-high 13.2 points per game to go with 4.2 rebounds, 1.1 assists and a 49.8% shooting percentage. Mical-Ryan Boyd, a NE10 Honorable Mention choice, scores 12.2 points per game to go along with 3.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists while shooting 50.0% from the hardwood and 40.7% from beyond the arc.

As a team, Saint Rose leads the conference in free throw percentage (78.9%), is second in scoring defense (68.0), steals (6.7), fourth in rebound margin (+2.7) and assists per game (16.4). They have also put five players in double digit scoring eight times this season.

EARLIER THIS SEASON

Both squads met earlier this year on Saturday, January 14th in Albany and the Golden Knights galloped to a 20 point, 87-67 victory over the Ravens. FPU junior forward Jordan Lackey (South Plainfield, N.J.) led the Raven offensive attack with 21 points on 7-of-9 (77.8%) shooting. Sandiford joined his teammate in double figures with 14 points and Gittens added 11 markers along with three boards, two assists, one steal and a stuff. Boyd led the way for the Golden Knights with 19 points as he was one of five scorers in double figures.

HEADING TO THE GAME?

If you're planning on heading to the game here are the directions to the Daniel P. Nolan Gymnasium.

You will be required to pay a small gate fee to enter the gym. The prices are...

General Admission.....$8.00

Children & Seniors.....$5.00

Northeast-10 Conference Students w/Identification.....$1.00

WHERE TO WATCH

Can't make it to the game? The Northeast-10 and the College of Saint Rose have you covered with live stats and free video. Click the links below to access the live stats and video.

LIVE STATS | VIDEO

You can also view the Northeast-10 Conference 2017 Men's Basketball Championship page by clicking here.

WHATS NEXT?

The winner of this contest will advance to the NE10 Semifinals on Wednesday, March 1 at 7:00 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 athletic apparel can do so at the Department of Athletics' online store (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu/store).