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Posted: Jan 05, 2025

Men's Basketball Secures First NE10 Win with an 80-70 Victory Over AIC

Shannen Hardy
Shannen Hardy
Box Score
Game Leaders
American International
Pts: Justice Ellison - 23
Reb: Tyrae Washington - 13
Ast: 2 Players (#3, #23) - 3
Franklin Pierce
Pts: Donte Pope - 27
Reb: 2 Players (#1, #5) - 8
Ast: Ja'Keese Kemp - 4
Team Stats
Full stats

RINDGE, N.H. (1/5/25) – The Franklin Pierce men's basketball team notched their first Northeast-10 conference win of the season, defeating American International College, 80-70, on Sunday afternoon at The Fieldhouse. The Ravens used a strong shooting performance and a dominant second-half effort to overcome a double-digit deficit and secure the victory.

SCORE: FPU 80, AIC 70
RECORDS: FPU 2-11 (1-5 NE10), AIC 3-11 (2-4 NE10)
DATE: Sunday, January 5, 2025
LOCATION: The Fieldhouse, Rindge, N.H.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

  • The Ravens started strong with a layup by Ja'Keese Kemp (Lakeland, Fla.), but Jack Hall quickly answered with a three-pointer for the Yellow Jackets.
  • Back-to-back threes from Pierce Prendergast (Bayport, N.Y.), Kemp, and Donte Pope (Middletown, Conn.) pushed the Ravens ahead 11-5 early in the game.
  • AIC's Coleman Hopson caught fire later in the half, sinking three consecutive three-pointers to give the Yellow Jackets a 29-22 lead.
  • Despite trailing by as much as 10 points, Pope and Prendergast's hot shooting helped Franklin Pierce rally, with Prendergast's three-pointer in the final seconds of the half securing a 37-36 lead at halftime.
  • The second half saw a back-and-forth battle, with AIC maintaining the lead until Caleb Gatewood's (Tampa, Fla.) tip-in tied the game at 48-48. Donte Pope then took over, hitting a three-pointer, followed by a tip-in and an and-one play from Saeer Miller (Philadelphia, Pa.), pushing the Ravens ahead 60-54.
  • Pope stayed on fire from beyond the arc, sinking two more three-pointers in the final 10 minutes to extend Franklin Pierce's lead to 74-63 with just over a minute remaining.

BREAKING DOWN THE NUMBERS:

  • Donte Pope led the team with 27 points.
  • The Ravens shot 39.4% from the field. The Yellow Jackets shot 38.4%.
  • The Ravens shot 47.6% from three-point range. The Yellow Jackets shot 34.5.
  • The Yellow Jackets had 42 rebounds to the Raven's 48.

UP NEXT FOR THE RAVENS: The Franklin Pierce men's basketball team is back in action this Wednesday, when they travel to Pace University. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 PM following the women's game.