RINDGE, N.H. (11/13/22) - The Franklin Pierce men's basketball team soared to their first win of the regular season on Sunday evening over Jefferson University, 80-61 at The Fieldhouse. Coming out of the break, the Ravens pulled away from the Rams in the second half with a dominating 50-point performance, led by sophomore guard Jarnel Snow-Guzman (Lynn, Mass.).

The Ravens move to 1-1 following the home victory, closing out their weekend tournament event on a high note. Jefferson University additionally moves to 1-1 with the loss.

The first half was an evenly-played affair between the Ravens and the Rams, as baskets were traded throughout the bulk of the action. Following eight different lead changes, the Ravens pulled seven unanswered points, including tallies from freshman Ugo Nwachukwu (Imo State, Nigeria) and junior Sean Bresnan (Yonkers, N.Y.) to pull ahead 23-18. However, the Rams continued to remain active on the scoreboard, hitting two of their four first half three pointers on the way to reclaiming the lead, 30-27. With time winding down in the opening half, junior forward Antonio Chandler (Piscataway, N.J.) stepped up for the Ravens with six straight points, sending Pierce into the break with a fragile one point lead, 31-30.

The Ravens began clicking on all cylinders with consistent scoring drives entering the second half, outscoring the Rams 12-7 through the first five minutes alone. At the 14:37 mark of the half, sophomore Mohamed Traore (Hyde Park, Mass) set the tone with an aggressive driving layup after collecting the defensive rebound at the other end, forcing a Jefferson timeout. Following the brief pause, Jarnel Snow-Guzman kept the fire burning for Pierce with a corner three, quickly putting the Ravens ahead 48-39. Nearing ten minutes left in the half, Ugo Nwachukwu continued his strong performance with 11 of the Ravens next 13 points scored. For Franklin Pierce, the team would send home an additional trio of three-pointers through the remaining six minutes of the half, powering through to their 80-61 victory.

Jarnel Snow-Guzman led the Ravens with a career and game-high 17 points, along with two rebounds, four assists and a steal. As a team, the Ravens shot 52.6 percent (30-57) from the field and 38.1 percent (8-21) from behind the arc, while going 68.4 percent (13-19) from the free throw line. Franklin Pierce also held a 37-31 rebounding edge over the Rams on the evening.  

Men's Basketball will hit the road for the first time this season, opening NE10 conference competition at Assumption University on Saturday, November 19^th at 7:00 p.m.