Franklin Pierce Men's Basketball Falls to Adelphi, 83-73, in Championship Game of Lions Classic

ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. (November 20, 2010) – Senior guard Jeff Manchester (Gorham, Maine) finished with a team-high 18 points on Saturday evening, and freshman guard Ellis Cooper (Northampton, Mass.) added 14 more, but the Franklin Pierce University men’s basketball team was defeated, 83-73, by Adelphi in non-conference play in the championship game of the Lions Classic, hosted by Molloy at Quealy Gymnasium. Senior guard Richard Byrd led four Adelphi players in double digits with a game-high 23 points in the victory.

With the loss, Franklin Pierce falls to 2-2 (0-1 Northeast-10), while Adelphi improves to 3-0 (1-0 Northeast-10).

After Adelphi opened up a seven-point lead with 6:26 to play in the first half, Franklin Pierce rattled off nine straight points to take a 29-27 lead with 4:44 to play in the opening period. Freshman forward Matt Barboza (East Providence, R.I.) had four points on the run on a pair of layups, while Cooper added three points of his own.

However, from there, Adelphi would go on a 14-3 run over the remainder of the half to take a nine-point lead into the locker room. Adelphi would not lead by less than eight points at any time during the second half and would stretch the lead as high as 20 points (63-43) before Franklin Pierce closed the gap to the 10-point final score.

Manchester and Cooper were the only to Ravens to hit double digits offensively on Saturday. Manchester led the way on 5-for-9 shooting which included 4-for-6 from three-point range. Cooper led the Ravens with seven rebounds while sophomore guard Nigel Van Oostrum (Sheffield, England) dished out a game-high six assists. Sophomore guard Eric Jean-Guillaume (Stamford, Conn.) recorded four steals on the evening.

Byrd led the way for Adelphi in the victory with a 23-point, 10-rebound double-double. Three Panthers joined Byrd in double digits: junior guard Rob Johnson (22 points), senior guard David Akinyooye (13 points) and sophomore guard Chris Ranglin (12 points). Akinyooye nearly provided a double-double of his own, as he finished the night with eight rebounds. Byrd and Johnson each dished out four assists, while Johnson and Ranglin both finished with four steals.

The Ravens return to the court on Tuesday, Nov. 23, when they return home to host Saint Michael’s in a Northeast-10 Conference contest. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at the Fieldhouse in Rindge.

For more information on Franklin Pierce Athletics, please visit the official website of Franklin Pierce Athletics (http://athletics.franklinpierce.edu). Also be sure to follow the Ravens through the Department of Athletics’ official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/FranklinPierceRavens), its YouTube channel (http://www.youtube.com/franklinpiercesports) and its Twitter feed (http://twitter.com/FPUathletics).