Junior forward Jordan Lackey scored 16 points and snagged six rebounds as the Franklin Pierce University men’s basketball team defeated Northeast-10 Conference opponent Saint Anselm College 76-71 Saturday afternoon in the Fieldhouse.
The victory, the Crimson and Grey’s fourth in a row, moves them into second place in the Northeast Division Standings with an overall record of 6-4 and a 5-2 NE10 mark. The loss snaps the Hawks four game winning streak as they fall to 4-3, 4-3 NE10.
Lackey converted 7-of-11 (63.6%) of his field goal attempts and led the team with six rebounds. Mike McDevitt tallied a team-high 19 points, matched Lackey with six caroms and swatted three shots. Senior guard Matt Banton added 15 points, four boards, two assists and a block.
Sophomore guard Tim Guers was a thorn in the side of the Ravens for the entire game as he poured in a game-high 29 points on 5-of-7 (71.4%) connections from downtown. Guers grabbed seven boards and dished out two helpers. Team captain Chris Braley recorded a double-double with 11 points and a game-best 11 rebounds.
The Ravens defensive unit held reigning NE10 Spalding Player of the Week Harrison Taggart to only six points on 2-of-14 (14.2%) shooting. Taggart ended the game with a game-high five assists and came down with four caroms. He was held scoreless in the first half of play.
Franklin Pierce ended the first half on a 18-5 scoring binge that was fueled by two Ben Mead connections from deep that put the hosts ahead 40-28 at the intermission.
The Hawks shot only 10-of-35 (28.6%) from the floor during the first half while the Ravens made 16-of-33 (48.5%) of their field goal attempts.
Donte Gittens stuffed the stat sheet with eight points, five rebounds, three steals, three assists and a block. Asante Sandiford scored seven points and grabbed seven boards while Dustin Cole scored five points.
The Ravens head out on the road next Sunday, December 18 when they travel to non-conference opponent Bloomfield at 3:30 p.m.