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Skyhawks Pull Away From Ravens Late In Second Half, Hand FPU 81-75 Loss in Back and Forth Affair

Jeremy Arthur
Jeremy Arthur (Photo Courtesy of Matthew Cerullo)

This Franklin Pierce University men's basketball recap is presented by Belletetes

RINDGE, N.H. (December 1, 2018) – Stonehill College rallied behind 22 second-half points by junior guard Will Moreton to hand the Franklin Pierce University men's basketball team an 81-75 loss in a Northeast-10 Conference game that saw 15 lead changes at The Fieldhouse Saturday afternoon. With the victory, the Skyhawks move to 5-4, 2-3 NE10 while the Ravens move to 3-4, 1-2 NE10.

Moreton came alive in the second half after being held scoreless in the first stanza. He drained 6-of-12 (50.0%) of his field goal attempts while hitting 3-of-5 (60.0%) from beyond the arc. Two other starters tallied double figures as junior guard Brandon Twitty chipped in 20 markers and senior guard Michael Boen added 10 points, seven rebounds, and two steals.

The Ravens were led by graduate transfer Jeremy Arthur (Westbury, N.Y.) who produced 17 points off the bench in 26 minutes hitting all 5-of-8 of his field goals from long range. Fellow transfer junior forward Jameson Pierrelus (Martin County, Fla.) manufactured his first double-double of the season in 22 bench minutes with 12 points and a game-best 11 boards (four offensive).

Starters Doyin Fadojutimi (Temple Hills, Md.) and Falu Seck (Washington, D.C.) scored 16 and 15 points respectively. Sophomore guard Sam van Oostrum (Sheffield, England) dished out a game-high seven assists for FPU.

Both squads shot equal percentages in the first half, but the Skyhawks sharpshooters connected on 64.0% (16-of-25) of their attempts in the second half. There was also a disparity in free throw attempts for the second straight game for FPU as they attempted only nine free chances compared to the guests 28.

The Ravens started the contest on a 15-5 scoring binge to open up their first double-digit lead of the game. An inbounds three-ball by Fadojutimi as he curled around a screen made it 7-3 at the 16:51 mark. Arthur hit his first long-range attempt, the catch and shoot variety from the left wing. Pierrelus capped off the Raven run with the third three-pointer of the binge to lead by 10 just six minutes into the showdown.

FPU's press provided an easy steal by van Oostrum as he passed the rock in transition to Seck who rifled home a left corner trifecta to open up a game-high 13 point advantage for Pierce midway through the half. Stonehill responded with a 13-3 scoring run of their own capped off by a sophomore guard Owen Chose three to make it a one-possession game, 25-23. Arthur answered on the next trip down the floor for the Ravens connecting on a downtown shot to reestablish a two-possession edge. The Ravens were in front 34-27 at the break.

Seck dumped in five points to start the second half for his squad as the Ravens were in the driver's seat, 39-29 following his three-ball. A 9-2 Stonehill spurt brought them within three, 41-38 after another Chose trey. Back-to-back three-balls from Twitty off the press break and a Moreton connection pushed the Skyhawks ahead by one, 46-45 with 14:27 remaining.

Two Fadojutimi freebies and an Arthur stepback wing three-pointer brought the Raven lead to four, 50-46. The teams traded buckets as a Seck three and a Fadojutimi deep drain off a van Oostrum bounce pass was part of a run of eight points for the Ravens to rally behind by three to take a one point 63-62 advantage.

A three-minute scoring drought ensued until Moreton put the Skyhawks ahead 64-63 with under five minutes left. A clutch catch and shoot three on the right wing from Arthur gave the Ravens a two-point, 71-69 lead at the 3:08 mark. Stonehill would rally with eight straight points with the dagger being a Moreton wide open long rage stroke to ice the game as the Ravens struggled to drain shots down the stretch.

Franklin Pierce hits the road on Wednesday when they head to NE10 opponent Merrimack College 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). You can also follow the men's basketball team on Twitter (https://twitter.com/FPURavensMBB) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/fpuravensmbb/).