RINDGE, N.H. (December 4, 2021) - The Franklin Pierce University men's basketball team outlasted the Southern New Hampshire University Penmen on Saturday evening in the Fieldhouse. The Ravens led by seven at the half, and by as many as 12 in the second half, but SNHU was able to rally down the stretch to force overtime. With Franklin Pierce up by two on an Isaiah Moore (Temple Hills, Md.) layup, freshman Sean Trumper (Ashford, United Kingdom) provided a three-point dagger with 95 seconds to play, as the Ravens poured in 14 points in overtime to pull out the 87-83 win.

With the Northeast-10 Conference win, Franklin Pierce improves to 4-3 (2-1 NE10), while SNHU falls to 5-3 (2-2 NE10).

Penmen sophomore Noah Kamba led all players with 24 points, followed by the Ravens junior Maxwell Zegarowski (South Hamilton, Mass.) with 23. In total, four players eclipsed 20 points on the day, with sophomore Matt Becht recording 22 for Southern New Hampshire, and Moore adding 20 for the Ravens. Franklin Pierce sophomore Sean Bresnan (Yonkers, N.Y.) earned the game's only double-double, with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Kamba dished out seven assists, while Moore provided five.

The Penmen came out flying, earned control of the game early and built a six-point lead before the Ravens could find their footing. It would take the Ravens 12 minutes to level the game out, as they drew even at 26-26 on a Moore triple with eight minutes remaining in the first half. The teams traded scores before the Ravens went on an eight-point run to open up a 36-28 margin, on the way to a 47-40 halftime lead.

Much like the first half, the Penmen came out swinging in the second. After a few early Franklin Pierce buckets, SNHU kicked off an 11-1 run to pull the game within two, before the Ravens again settled back in. A few more minutes passed before the big swing hit: A five-minute, 21-5 run for the Penmen, which began with the Ravens ahead by 11 and ended with the Penmen up by seven. With three minutes left in the half, the Ravens needed someone to step up, and Moore answered the call. He and the Ravens ended the half on an 8-1 run, including a Moore layup in the final 30 seconds to bring the game level at 73-73, to force the overtime period.

The overtime was all Ravens after the first minute, and featured an 8-0 run to seal it, which included the Moore layup, the Trumper trey and a layup from Bresnan as well. The Penmen tried to foul their way back in but could not get closer than three points at the back end of the extra session.

The Ravens are back in action on Sunday, Dec. 12, when they travel to Bentley for an NE10 contest at 2 p.m. in Waltham, Mass.