South Easton, Mass. - This week's Northeast-10 game of the week features the league-leading Adelphi University Panthers heading to Rindge, N.H. to take on one of the stories of the season in the fifth-place Franklin Pierce University Ravens. All 16 NE-10 Conference men's basketball teams will take to the court this weekend as the 'second-half' of the season begins to pick up steam.
ADELPHI at FRANKLIN PIERCE, Saturday, January 14 at 3:30pm – Rindge, N.H.
The defending NE-10 Conference champion Panthers (11-3, 8-2 NE-10) have not missed a beat from last year's title winning team and currently have a one-game lead in the conference standings. While the losses of All-Conference performers David Akinyooye and Richard Byrd have certainly given the team a different look, this year's Adelphi team features a much more balanced attack as four players average at least ten points per game. After dropping their season-opener to Southern Connecticut State University, Adelphi has won eight of their last nine conference games en route to the top of the NE-10 standings.
Franklin Pierce (10-4, 6-4 NE-10), meanwhile, has been arguably the story of the first half in NE-10 men's basketball. Picked to finish 15th in the Preseason Coaches' Poll, the Ravens currently stand in a tie for fifth place in the conference standings with a 6-4 record in league play. Franklin Pierce has struggled as of late, however, dropping two straight decisions on the road to Le Moyne College and the University of New Haven. The Ravens have played well in Rindge, posting a 3-1 mark on their home court so far this season.
THE COACHES: Adelphi is led by Dom Savino, who is in his second season at the helm in Garden City, N.Y. Savino led the Panthers to the NE-10 Championship and a berth in the NCAA Championship last year, and has a 31-14 mark in his short, but successful stint as the head coach for Adelphi.
David Chadbourne is currently in the midst of his 13th season as the head coach for Franklin Pierce. During his tenure, he has compiled a 160-188 mark. Chadbourne's best season came in his first year, when he led the Ravens to a 17-11 record, and with this year's edition currently standing at 10-4, he has a chance to match or even better that win total.
THE PANTHERS: Adelphi has used a balanced scoring attack and a stingy defense to climb to the top of the NE-10 standings. The Panthers are first in the league in free throw percentage as a team, making nearly 77% of their attempts from the line, and are fourth in the NE-10 in points allowed per game, holding their opposition to just 61.4 points per outing.
Individually, the balanced Panthers leading scorer is Robert Johnson, who is averaging just under 14 points per game, currently 17th best in the NE-10. Big man Bradley Simpson is fourth in the league in field goal percentage as he has made 61.1 percent of his attempts so far this season.
THE RAVENS: Franklin Pierce has been solid on both ends of the court so far this season, as the Ravens are fifth in the NE-10 in points scored per game (73.6) and also fifth in points allowed per game (64.9). Franklin Pierce has also been the most accurate team from long-range so far this season, knocking down nearly 38 percent of all their three-point attempts.
Eric Jean-Guillaume leads the Ravens offensive attack as he's currently seventh in the NE-10 in scoring (16.6 points per game). The high-scoring guard is also third in the league in made 3-pointers with 39 and fourth in 3-point percentage (49.4 percent).
Fans can tune in and listen to the live audio broadcast of the game by clicking here.
Release courtsey of the Northeast-10 Conference. The original release can be found here.
