Fadojutimi the Bright Spot in Raven Poor Shooting Performance at Adelphi
This Franklin Pierce University men's basketball recap is presented by Belletetes
GARDEN CITY, N.Y. (January 26, 2019) – Franklin Pierce University men's basketball junior guard Doyin Fadojutimi (Temple Hills, Md.) produced a team-high 24 points during an 86-68 defeat at the hands of Northeast-10 Conference opponent Adelphi University Saturday afternoon. With the win, the host Panthers improve to 13-7, 7-5 NE10 while the Ravens drop below .500 at 9-10 and move to 5-7 in league play.
It was the second straight game in which Fadojutimi tallied 20+ points and the seventh time this season. The team captain was 8-of-13 (61.5%) from the hardwood and a perfect 6-of-6 (100%) at the free throw line. He came down with a team-high six rebounds, dished off three assists, recorded a game-best three steals and blocked two shot attempts in 31 minutes of play.
Teammate Isaiah Moore (Temple Hills, Md.) added 11 markers, a team-high four assists, and three caroms. Franklin Pierce had the fourth lowest shooting performance of their campaign converting only 37.9% (25-of-66) of their shot attempts. They were only 24.1% (7-of-29) from deep, were outrebounded (45-to-38) and outscored in the paint (50-to-34) by their counterparts. Adelphi drained 58.8% (20-of-34) of their second-half attempts compared to the Ravens 31.3% (10-of-32).
The Panthers were led by Jack Laffey's game-high 30 points as he was 6-of-12 (50%) from beyond the arc. He also chipped in eight boards. Oswald Parker III (14 points, 10 rebounds) and Conor Mcguinness (10 points, 12 assists) manufactured double-doubles.
Classmates Moore and guard Brandon Kolek (Cumberland, R.I.) connected on three-balls to move Pierce ahead 6-2 just 44 seconds into the battle. FPU kept tacking on points using a 9-2 mini-run with five points from Fadojutimi including an and1 and four off the shot of Moore to lead by a game-best 11 points, 15-4 with 16:15 left until the break. Eight consecutive points by the hosts made it a one-possession game 15-12 via a Laffey trifecta. Six straight by FPU grew their edge to seven when Lolami Lola-Charles (Aberdeen, Md.) threw down a jam.
With 10:21 left before the intermission, Adelphi used a 13-4 spurt capped off by a Laffey transition trey to give them their first advantage since it was 3-2 in the opening seconds, 29-27. Both squads swapped points until Pierce freshman forward Connor Cullen (Ankeny, Iowa) sank a three to push FPU in front 34-32. Adelphi was behind 36-35 at the intermission.
The Ravens knocked down two threes, Fadojutimi and Kolek to reopen the two possession Pierce edge, 42-37. Six in a row for the home team put them back on the plus side of the scoring column 50-48 at the 13:56 mark. Twenty seconds followed when sophomore guard Sam van Oostrum (Sheffield, England) drained a three to regain the lead for FPU, 51-50. The teams kept up the back and forth nature of the showdown until a 14-4 Adelphi binge gave them a 10 point, 69-59 lead. A Fadojutimi hoop and harm dropped the Raven deficit down to seven, but Laffey connected on another three to gain the momentum back to the hosts, 72-62. A couple of minutes passed when Fadojutimi once again brought it to a seven-point game via a deep range connection. Adelphi ended the game outscoring Pierce 14-3 to win by double-digits.
The Ravens head back home to the friendly confines of The Fieldhouse on Wednesday for a two-game home swing. They welcome the University of New Haven to campus 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://www.fpuravens.com). 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://www.fpuravens.com/store). You can also follow the men's basketball team on Twitter (https://twitter.com/FPURavensMBB) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/fpuravensmbb/).