Dec. 10, 2011

Box Score

Junior G Eric Jean-Guiilaume scored a game-high 27 points to lead Franklin Pierce over UMass Lowell, 86-80, Saturday afternoon in a Northeast-10 Conference men’s basketball clash at the Costello Athletic Center.

With the loss, UMass Lowell slipped to 6-4 overall and 3-4 in the NE-10 and enjoys a 20-day hiatus until hosting Concordia College on Saturday, Dec. 31 (1:00). Franklin Pierce improved to 9-2 overall and 5-2 in the Conference.

Junior G Matt Welch (Lowell, Mass.) led UMass Lowell with a season-high 22 points and eight rebounds while shooting 8 for 14 from the field and 6-10 from 3-point range. Sophomore G Scotty Tavares-Taylor (Roxbury, Mass.) added a season-high 19 points and seven assists while shooting 7-12 from the field and 3-6 from long range.

Sophomore F Antonio Bivins (Miami, Fla.) chipped in 17 points and three assists, shooting 7-9 from the floor.

Jean-Guillaume converted 9 of 13 field goals, 4-5 from 3-point range and 5-6 from the free throw line while freshman F Ryen Vilmont added 19 points and seven rebounds. Sophomore G Ellis Cooper scored 17 points and grabbed five rebounds while shooting 7-9 from the field.

Franklin Pierce shot .544 from the field (31-57) and converted 10 of 20 3-point attempts while UMass Lowell shot .455 overall (30-66) and 11-31 from 3-point range (.355). The Ravens also outrebounded the River Hawks 39-27 overall and 30-18 on the defensive glass.

UMass Lowell forced 20 turnovers from Franklin Pierce while committing only 12.

“We came out and really played good offense, pressed and got a lead,” said head coach Greg Herenda. “They’re a really good basketball team. They’re real athletic. Dave (Chadbourne, FPU head coach) has done a really good job. They only have two losses. We just let them score too easily.”

Franklin Pierce led 46-42 at the break and opened the second half with a 21-7 run to post a 67-49 lead with 13:10 left to play. Vilmont fueled the run with three treys while Jean-Guillaume had seven points.

UMass Lowell came back with a 22-7 tear of its own to post a 77-74 lead with 3:50 to play. Tavares-Taylor led the run with seven points while Bivins scored six.

The lead was short-lived, however, as Franklin Pierce outscored the River Hawks 12-4 the rest of the way, led by Jean-Guillaume who scored nine points in the final 3:19.

“We got back in the game and took the lead, but started turning the ball over,” Herenda noted. “I think we defended down the stretch. Our offense got better. We had 20 assists, and that’s a lot for a college basketball game.

“We just have to do three things well,” he added. “We have to defend, we have to rebound and we have to take care of the ball.”