Recap by Director of Athletic Communications Luke Tracy 

RINDGE, N.H. (1/6/2024) – In a tale of two halves, Franklin Pierce men's basketball fell to the College of Staten Island Saturday afternoon. The Dolphins dominated the first 20 minutes but it was a different story in then second frame as then Ravens stormed back but fell just short in the 93-86 loss.

Score: Franklin Pierce 86, Staten Island 93
Records: Franklin Pierce (3-10, 1-6 NE10) Staten Island (9-5, 3-1 ECC)
Location: Sports & Recreation Center, Staten Island, NY
Date: January 6, 2024

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• As the Ravens hit the road for New York, three key Raven players, Sean Trumper (Ashford, UK), Jarnel Snow-Guzman (Lynn, Mass.) and RJ Delahaye (Newburgh, NY) sat out to rest and recover for the second half of the season. Though down three players, two new additions to the team and a string of underclassmen stepped up in the non-conference matchup.
• During the first ten minutes, the Dolphins jumped to a 12-point lead which included six 3-pointers. At the end of the first half, the Dolphins outscored the Ravens 47-31.  
• Licking their wounds and regrouping for the second half, the Ravens put together the best 20 minutes of basketball so far this season with 55 points. Though FPU outscored CSI 55-46 in the second, their efforts fell just 7-points short of victory.

BREAKING DOWN THE NUMBERS:

• Saturday marked Raven transfer student Ja'Keese Kemp's (Lakeland, Fla.) third game at Franklin Pierce and he immediately made an impact scoring a game high 22 points including 8-12 from the field with a pair of three pointers and four baskets from the free throw line.
• Sophomore Andrew Politi (Salem, N.H.) had the hot hand Saturday going 5-7 from the field including five 3-pointers which accounted for all 15 of the points he scored for the Ravens.
• Dwayne Robinson O'Hagen (Woonsocket, R.I.) , who transferred to Pierce over the Holiday break made his debut with then team tallying 12 points including 5-7 from the field and 2-2 from the charity stripe.
• Theisen Lee (Cincinnati, Ohio) – 10 points , Pierce Prendergast (Bayport, N.Y.)– 9 points, and Patrick Spenard (Rochester, Mass.) – 9 points rounded out the team's top scorers.
• The Ravens fought from behind the entire game but were able to tie it up twice. Statistically, Staten Island outperformed the Ravens on all fronts except the free throw line which ultimately reflected the final score.
  • • Three Pointers:
      • FPU: 10-25 (40%) – CSI: 11-24 (45.8%)
    • Field Goals:
      • FPU: 29-26 (46.8%) – CSI: 34-66 (51.5%)
    • Free Throws:
      • FPU: 18-20 (90%) – CSI: 14-19 (73.7%)  
• A silver lining in the Raven's loss is the impressive performance from the bench which scored 46 points in Saturday's game. For CSI, the Dolphin's bench only tallied 24 points.

NEXT FOR THE RAVENS: Franklin Pierce men's basketball hits the road on Wednesday, January 10^th to take on Adelphi at 7:30 PM.