SYRACUSE, N.Y. (January 6, 2018) – Franklin Pierce University men's basketball senior forward Mike McDevitt (Cumberland, Maine) led all players with a career-high 31 points, but the Ravens in their return to Northeast-10 Conference action dropped a 79-67 decision to Le Moyne College Saturday afternoon at Ted Grant Court. With the win, the Dolphins swim to 10-5, 7-1 NE10 and the loss sends the Ravens to 7-6, 2-6 NE10.

McDevitt missed only three shots on the afternoon as he was 12-of-15 (80.0%) from the hardwood including a 5-of-7 (71.4%) mark from deep. He grabbed four rebounds, blocked two shots and came up with one theft. Classmate Jordan Lackey (South Plainfield, N.J.) was the only other Raven to achieve double-figure scoring with 12 points to go with a team-best six boards while handing out two assists.

Le Moyne was paced by a balanced scoring attack as four of five starters scored in double digits. Senior guard Russell Sangster led all Dolphins with 18 points on 8-of-10 (80.0%) shooting. He also dished out a team-best four helpers. Senior forward Robert Jones III manufactured 14 points and a game-best eight caroms. Isaiah Eisendorf and Tom Brown produced 12 and 11 points respectively.

Franklin Pierce held the advantage at the line (11-of-13, 84.6%) and on the glass (32-to-25), but struggled with turnovers (19-to-8) and the Dolphin post presence (42-to-20 points in the paint).  

Le Moyne began the contest with four straight points via Eisendorf and Sangster jumpers. McDevitt went to work early as he poured all 10 of the Ravens points off of three-balls, layups and free throws as FPU trailed 14-10 with 14:36 left in the first half.

With Le Moyne ahead by two possessions, Brown drained a trey from the top of the point to push the Dolphin edge to 18-10. FPU missed a free throw and then with the shot clock expiring, Anthony Richards buried a three-ball to move the lead to 11, 21-10. Trailing by 13, the Ravens went on a 10-2 scoring run as Lackey drove the baseline for a second chance layup with contact. He hit his attempt at the charity stripe as the Ravens trailed 25-15. Falu Seck (Washington, D.C.) brought the deficit to nine, 27-18 when the sophomore guard swished home a step back three-pointer. The Ravens forced a stop then Lackey took a transition layup to the rack and McDevitt knocked down another mid-range jumper as Pierce trailed 27-22.

With 6:56 to go, Raven freshman forward Devonte McCall (Amherst, Mass.) cleaned up his own missed jumper and put the offensive board back into the hoop for two markers. McDevitt continued his first half assault as he drained a long-range connection from the right wing off a Sean Fasoyiro (Houston, Texas) feed to cut the Raven deficit to two, 29-27. The Phins would tally a 10-2 scoring run to push back ahead by double figures. The Ravens ended the run when Seck dished off a driving pass from the right side to the left corner to David Bradbury (Deep River, Conn.) who drained a three to bring the edge back to single figures at 39-32. Le Moyne would score one more basket to hold a 41-32 halftime lead.

McDevitt was on point in the first half with 17 of the Ravens 32 points on 6-of-8 (75.0%) shooting, a 3-of-4 (75.0%) clip from deep with three rebounds and one block.

The Ravens trailed by double figures a few minutes into the second stanza until Doyin Fadojutimi (Temple Hills, Md.) scored his first points of the game via a three-ball assisted by Seck as the Ravens were down 45-37. The Dolphins advantage hovered around 10-12 points over the next few minutes as the teams traded points and possessions. Le Moyne moved ahead by 14, off the strength of an Eisendorf jumper, but a Gerard Gray Jr. (Washington, D.C.) layup and two Lackey free throws cut the Raven deficit to 60-50 with 7:36 on the clock. A Tanner Hyland trey once again increased the lead, but McDevitt answered with a three-ball of his own to even the Dolphin lead back to 10.

There was 4:35 on the clock when Faodjutimi went coast to coast for a lay-in. Following a media timeout, Jones was fouled while knocking down a jumper. He completed the and1 as they pushed back ahead by double-digits. Over the final minutes, Franklin Pierce could not come closer as they dropped the duel to the Dolphins.

The Ravens return to NE10 action on Wednesday when they travel to Pace 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).