January 24, 2009
MBB: DOLPHINS FALL 90-79 AT ASSUMPTION IN NE-10 ACTION
Worcester, Mass. - Junior forward Laurence Ekperigin
(Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Walter Panas) registered game-highs
of 23 points and 16 rebounds, but Savoy Fraine led six players in
double-figures as Assumption College defeated the Le Moyne College
men's basketball team, 90-79, on Saturday afternoon at Laska
Gym.
Ekperigin, who tallied 20 points and 11 rebounds in the second
half, registered his 14th double-double of the season and 10th game
with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds. Freshman guard
Chris Johnson (Lindenhurst, N.Y./Lindenhurst)
recorded 19 points off the bench for the Dolphins, while senior
swingman Phil Barnes (Georgetown, Cayman Islands/Clinton
C.C.) tallied 11 points and eight rebounds.
Fraine posted 20 points, Mike Baldarelli scored 17 and grabbed 11
rebounds, Greg Twomey recorded 14 and Patrick Shea tallied 11.
Kevin Donahue and Courtland Bluford scored 12 and 11 points off the
bench, respectively.
The Dolphins scored the first six points of the second half on a
basket from Barnes and four points by Ekperigin to knot the score
at 38. After each squad tallied 14 points over the next 4:42,
Assumption used a 10-2 run to pull away from the Dolphins. Tobin
Haase opened the streak with a three-point play and Baldarelli made
a layup to cap it.
Le Moyne answered with a 6-2 rally on three free throws by Johnson
and a three-point play by Ekperigin to close within 64-60 with 8:05
remaining in regulation. Assumption responded with nine straight
points and 19 of the game's next 26 to take a 16-point lead with
under three minutes left. Baldarelli tallied seven points in the
stretch, while Bluford added five. The Dolphins registered a 12-7
streak over the final two and one-half minutes to deliver the final
score. Ekperigin reached the 20-point plateau for the 11th time
this season by scoring six points in the two minutes.
The two squads exchanged the lead five times over the opening eight
and one-half minutes to deliver a 14-14 tie. Barnes hit a pair of
three-pointers in the span for the Dolphins, while Twomey and
Fraine each netted four points for the Greyhounds.
Assumption posted five straight points to pull ahead, but the
Dolphins rattled off a 10-2 run, capped by a Johnson three-pointer,
to take a 24-21 advantage with 5:51 remaining in the stanza. After
the Greyhounds evened the contest at 27 apiece, Assumption closed
the half on an 11-5 streak to go into the half with a 38-32 lead.
Johnson hit his third three-pointer of the half in the closing
seconds of the half, but Bluford responded by banking in a shot
from mid-court as time expired.
Le Moyne (9-10, NE-10 5-9), which falls to 1-6 on the season in
road conference games, returns to action at Ted Grant Court on
Wednesday, Jan. 28 against American International at 7:30 p.m.
-agate-
Assumption 90, Le
Moyne 79
Le Moyne (9-10, NE-10
5-9)
32
47
-
79
Assumption (12-6, NE-10
10-4)
38
52
- 90
