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

RINDGE, N.H. (February 28, 2019) – The no. 4 Northeast Division seeded Franklin Pierce University men's basketball team for the first time since the 2013-14 season will host a Northeast-10 Conference Tournament game on Friday at 7:00 p.m. when they welcome the no. 5 Southwest Division seeded Pace University Setters to The Fieldhouse for the NE10 First Round.

The Crimson and Grey qualified for the 2019 NE10 Men's Basketball Championship for the sixth time over the last eight seasons and for the 14th time under the tutelage of head coach David Chadbourne (292-272, 213-215, NE10). In his 20 seasons on the Ravens bench, Coach Chadbourne's teams have reached the postseason 15 times. The last time FPU dueled in the playoffs was February 26, 2017, at the College of Saint Rose. The Golden Knights bettered the Ravens 93-80. Overall in the conference tourney, the Ravens are 7-13 with two trips to the semifinals, one trip to the finals and one second place finish.

This is the first time since the 2011-12 campaign that the Setters have made the NE10 Tournament and the first playoff berth for fourth-year head coach Matt Healing (39-73, 23-57 NE10). In the 2011-12 season, Pace was upended 51-49 against the University of New Haven in the First Round. In 14 years in the league, Pace is 4-14 in the conference dance appearing in the semifinals only and never reaching the championship game.

SCOUTING THE RAVENS

Pierce earned the no. 4 seed in the Northeast Division after wrapping up the season with a 15-13, 11-10 NE10 record. Since the calendar hit 2019, the Ravens have gone 10-6 overall and 9-5 in the NE10 climbing from the basement of the league standings after a 5-7, 2-5 NE10 start to the year.

Franklin Pierce loves the three-ball ranking ninth out of 306 NCAA Division II teams in three-point field goal attempts (835) and follow that up with the 16th most three-point conversions (304) in all of Division II. On offense, the Ravens show great ball moving and are not afraid to make the extra pass coming in at 20th in total assists (458). Pierce also uses a potent press at times forcing 16.3 turnovers per game, the 32nd best mark in the NCAA.

A trio of double-digit point scorers leads the Ravens. Junior guard Doyin Fadojutimi (Temple Hills, Md.) paces the team in scoring at 16.9 points per game. Classmate Falu Seck (Washington, D.C.) follows with 13.6 points per game and graduate transfer Jeremy Arthur (Westbury, N.Y.) rounds out the three with 11.1 points per game. Fadojutimi is also the team's leading rebounder gobbling up 5.5 boards per game. He is the Ravens leading block and steal getter ranking second in the conference in blocks per game (1.5) and third in steals per game (1.5). Fadojutimi is one of only two players in the NE10 who records over one stuff and one theft a game.

Sophomore guard Sam van Oostrum (Sheffield, England) dishes out 3.8 assists per contest and freshman guard Brandon Kolek (Cumberland, R.I.) carries the Ravens with a 44.9% three point efficiency in only 11.9 minutes per game, the fourth-best mark in the conference. In limited minutes (10.2 per game), David Bradbury Jr. (Deep River, Conn.) holds an insane 4.3 assist-to-turnover ratio, the best total in the league. Bradbury Jr. has only turned the ball over four times in his 286 minutes on the court.

As a team, the Crimson and Grey rank second in steals (8.0) and blocks (4.0) per contest. They also rank second in three-point conversions (304), third in offensive rebounds per game (10.6), third in assists per game (16.4) and fourth in scoring, 81.4 points per game. On the defensive end, the Ravens, however, rank last in the conference in rebounds allowed per game (38.4) and are 14th in points allowed per game (79.6).

FRANKLIN PIERCE PROJECTED STARTING FIVE

#30 Isaiah Moore (Temple Hills, Md.) – 9.4 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 2.5 APG, 43.7 FG%, 35.5 3PT%, 75.0 FT%
#20 Falu Seck – 13.6 PPG, 2.5 APG, 2.7 RPG, 2.5 APG, 44.6 FG%, 37.3 3PT%, 77.4 FT%
#23 Doyin Fadojutimi – 16.9 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 2.0 APG, 46.0 FG%, 38.2 3PT%, 80.2 FT%
#11 Jeremy Arthur – 11.1 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 1.7 APG, 44.6 FG%, 41.5% 3PT, 85.7 FT%
#5 Lolami Lola-Charles (Aberdeen, Md.) – 3.8 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 0.4 APG, 57.3 FG%, - 3PT%, 50.0% FT%

SCOUTING THE SETTERS

Pace earned the no. 5 seed in the Southwest Division after finishing the season with a 15-13, 9-11 NE10 mark, their best record with Matt Healing at the helm and their first year over .500 since 2007-08 (14-14, 13-9 NE10). The Setters enter the conference tournament on a cold streak as they've lost their last five games to end the season. Pace were losers in nine of their last 14 contests going back to January 9, 2019, at home against Southern New Hampshire University.

Like Pierce, Pace has a trio of double-figure point scorers. Junior forward Peyton Wejnert carries the load on offense averaging 17.3 points per game and is the squads leading rebounder at 7.8 caroms per contest, the sixth-best mark in the Northeast-10. The upperclassmen is third out of 250 Division II men's basketball athletes in free throw attempts (240) and he is eighth in free throws made (164). One-Time NE10 Player of the Week, guard Brandon Jacobs comes in at second in scoring dumping in 15.0 points per battle. Jacobs rarely heads to the bench as he averages 38.2 minutes per game and is eighth in the nation out of 150 qualifiers in total minutes. He ranks first for Pace in assists per game (6.3) which is the third highest mark in the conference. Senior forward Greg Poleon rounds out the double-digit scoring totaling 12.3 markers per duel. He's the team's leading shooter (53.6%) which ranks him eighth in the conference and he is second on Pace in rebounding with 6.1 rebounds per game.

As a team, Pace knocked down three-pointers at a league-low 27.8% clip (151-of-543). The Setters rank behind the Ravens in steals per game (6.8) and they share the rock on offense totaling 14.1 assists per game the fifth most in the conference. Pace has the fourth-lowest scoring offense in the NE10 averaging 70.6 points per game. However, on the defensive side of the ball, the Setters allow the fourth-fewest points in the league (70.7%) and they fall behind the Ravens in turnovers forced per game (14.6).

PACE PROJECTED STARTING FIVE

#10 Brandon Jacobs – 15.0 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 6.3 APG, 39.4 FG%, 31.3 3PT%, 81.4 FT%
#3 Austin Gilbertson – 9.8 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 2.5 APG, 35.8 FG%, 24.4 3PT%, 79.0 FT%
#5 Tyrone Cohen Jr. – 9.7 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 0.8 APG, 43.6 FG%, 31.0 3PT%, 51.3 FT%
#21 Greg Poleon – 12.3 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 1.3 APG, 53.6 FG%, 29.1 3PT%, 76.7 FT%
#32 Peyton Wejnert – 17.3 PPG, 7.8 RPG, 0.9 APG, 51.1 FG%, 20.6 3PT%, 68.3 FT%

EARLIER THIS SEASON

Both squads met earlier this year on Wednesday, January 16 in Rindge and the Ravens earned an 86-78 victory over the Setters. Raven guard Falu Seck elevated his play in the second half scoring 15 of his team-high 20 points and he was one of five Ravens to score in double figures. Doyin Fadojutimi tallied a game-best four blocks and Isaiah Moore dished out a contest-best five assists. For Pace, Austin Gilbertson carried the load with 23 points and nine rebounds. Forward Peyton Wejnert recorded a double-double 19 points and 10 rebounds – four offensive. The Ravens outshot (50.8%-to-39.7%) the Setters on nine fewer attempts and scored 27 points off the 16 Pace miscues. Pace tallied 18 offensive rebounds and scored 21 second-chance points.

In the all-time series, the Ravens hold a 19-9 record against their counterparts including wins in nine of their last 13 contests versus the Setters since the 2007-08 campaign.

HEADING TO THE GAME?

If you are planning on heading to the game here are the directions to The Fieldhouse.

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

*FIRST 150 FPU STUDENTS RECEIVE FREE ADMISSION WITH STUDENT ID*

WHERE TO WATCH

Can't make it to the game? The Northeast-10 and Franklin Pierce have you covered with live stats and video. Click the links below to access the live stats and video.

LIVE STATS | VIDEO

You can also view the Northeast-10 Conference 2019 Men's Basketball Championship page by clicking here.

WHAT'S NEXT?

The winner of this contest will advance to the NE10 Quarterfinals at no. 1 Southwest Division seeded Le Moyne College Sunday with tip-off slated for 4:00 p.m.

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/).