Rindge, N.H. – Sophomore forward Connor Mahoney (Hanover, Mass./BC High/Brooks School) scored a career-high 22 points to lead the third-seeded Le Moyne College men's basketball team to a 73-59 win over second-seeded Franklin Pierce University on Sunday afternoon in the Northeast-10 Conference Championships quarterfinals at The Fieldhouse.

Le Moyne (17-10), which has won four straight games and yielded only 56.25 points per game in the span, advances to the Northeast-10 Conference semifinals for the third time, including the second time in the last six years. The Dolphins, who were ranked 10th in this past week's NCAA East Region rankings, will face Southern Connecticut State University, the top seed in the Northeast Division, on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. The Owls swept the two regular-season meetings, winning 70-69 in Syracuse on December 17 and then 97-75 in New Haven on February 8.

Mahoney, whose previous career-high of 19 came in the first round of the Northeast-10 Conference Championships last year at UMass-Lowell, tallied 15 of his points in the first half on 6-of-6 shooting from the field, including a 3-for-3 performance from behind the three-point line. He added six rebounds, three steals and a pair of assists. Graduate student center Jim Janson (Scotia, N.Y./Scotia-Glenville) recorded 18 points and nine rebounds, including 10 points and six rebounds in the second half. Senior guard Nate Champion (Logansport, Ind./Logansport) flirted with a triple-double, finishing the game with 10 points, eight assists and seven rebounds. His sixth assist of the game moved him past Rob Atene and into seventh place on the program's career assists chart with 457. Junior guard Naté Gause (Poughkeepsie, N.Y./Poughkeepsie/Quinnipiac) registered 13 points, five rebounds, three blocks and three steals in 34 minutes off the bench.

Ryen Vilmont led the Ravens in the setback with 17 points, despite shooting 5-for-14 (2-10 from three-point range), while adding team-bests of seven rebounds and four assists. First team all-conference selection Ellis Cooper recorded 13 points and six rebounds.

After the Ravens scored the first four points of the game and nine of the first 17, the Dolphins posted an 8-3 run. Gause, Mahoney, Janson and sophomore guard Qwadere Lovell (Mount Vernon, N.Y./Mount Vernon) each made lay-ups in the spurt to give the Dolphins a 16-11 lead with 13:05 remaining.

The teams then alternated 5-0 runs, resulting in a 26-21 Le Moyne lead with 6:35 left. Mahoney had five of Le Moyne's 10 points, while Ant Lessane had five of Franklin Pierce's 10.

After Andre Blackwood made a three-pointer with 6:19 left to get the Ravens within 26-24, the Dolphins tallied 11 straight points to open up a 13-point advantage with 3:43 remaining. Mahoney had five of the points, while Janson, Gause and Champion each had two.

Following a 5-2 spurt by the Ravens, Gause nailed a jumper with 37 seconds left to give the Dolphins a 41-29 lead at halftime.

The teams split the first 16 points of the second half over the opening five minutes. Four different Dolphins scored in the span, while Vilmont and Donte Gittens each had four for the Ravens.

After Franklin Pierce closed within 49-41 with 13:52 remaining, the Dolphins registered nine straight points to open up their largest lead of the game. Janson and junior forward Ryan Romich">Ryan Romich (Groton, Mass./Groton-Dunstable/Vermont Academy) each made lay-ups, Mahoney drained a three-pointer and then Janson made two free throws for a 58-41 lead with 11:39 left.

The Ravens responded with a 9-2 run to get within 10, but could not get any closer. Four different Ravens scored in the span, led by a three-pointer by Curtis Christian and capped by a pair of free throws by Vilmont.

After calling timeout, the Dolphins scored five straight points to push their lead to 15 with 3:24 left. Lovell made three free throws and then Janson converted a fast-break lay-up.

Franklin Pierce (20-7), which fell in the Northeast-10 Conference championship game last year before winning the East Regional, got back to within 10 on two occasions, a Vilmont three-point play and a Cooper lay-up, but the Dolphins put the game away by going 6-of-8 from the foul line Lovell made three of the free throws, Janson made two and then Champion converted one with 35 seconds left.