RINDGE, N.H. (February 22, 2022) – The Franklin Pierce University men's basketball team took to the court in the Fieldhouse for a Northeast-10 Conference matchup against the Assumption University Greyhounds on Tuesday night, in the regular-season finale for both sides. Freshman Mohamed Traore (Hyde Park, Mass.) led all players with a career-high 30 points, but the Ravens dropped a 78-76 decision. Graduate student Matthew Kelly hit a game-winning layup with just 0.8 seconds remaining to lift the Greyhounds to the victory.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 15-9 (12-7 NE10), while Assumption improves to 11-12 (7-12 NE10). The Ravens claimed the second seed in the Northeast Division and will host Southwest Division seventh seed American International in the first round of the NE10 Championship. Weather permitting, the game is set for 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 25, in the Fieldhouse.

Assumption opened the scoring with junior Kani Glover converting 2-for-3 from the line, but senior Isaiah Moore (Temple Hills, Md.) exploited a pair of lanes to the basket for his first two makes of the game. Both teams continued to trade baskets and the lead in the hotly-contested start to the game. Assumption started to build a lead, but a three-point make from senior Maxwell Zegarowski (South Hamilton, Mass.) brought the score to 18-17 in favor of the Greyhounds with 8:03 to play in the half. Later, with only 4:15 left until halftime, Traore hit a pair from beyond the arc to tie the game at 27-27. Franklin Pierce held a one-point lead in the final moments of the half, but Kelly dropped in a last-second layup to give Assumption a one-point lead into the break, 36-35.

Traore led all players at the half with 12 points, while Moore added 10 of his own. Sophomore Sean Bresnan (Yonkers, N.Y.) helped with six rebounds, all on the defensive end. Omar El Sheikh dropped nine points for Assumption and paced the field with seven rebounds through the first 20 minutes.

The second half started just as contested as the first. The two teams traded makes from beyond the arc, as Glover hit for the Greyhounds, and Traore followed up for the Ravens. The latter added another triple to tie the game, 45-45, with 16 minutes to play. Assumption built up a seven-point lead, but the Ravens continued to find the bottom of the net from beyond the arc. Traore added a pair, while one from sophomore Matt Hofrenning (Minneapolis, Minn.) brought the score back to within two, at 51-49, with nine minutes remaining.

Following a quick run by the Greyhounds, junior Derrick Obanor (Hyde Park, Mass.) hit a pair of corner threes to regain the lead, and then a three-point play from Zegarowski woke up the crowd at the Fieldhouse, as he extended the lead to 69-65. Assumption took the lead back and pushed it to 76-72 on a three-pointer by junior Isiah Gaiter with two minutes to play. A quartet of Traore free throws eventually brought the game level, 76-76, with 30 seconds to play, but Kelly dropped another buzzer-beating layup in the final second to give Assumption the 78-76 victory.

Traore's 30 led the way, while Moore added 21, as the two guards combined for 51 of the team's 74 points. Glover led five Greyhounds in double figures with 22 points, while El Sheikh led all players with 15 rebounds, including five on the offensive glass.