Rindge, N.H. – Mohamed Traore tallied 20 points to lead Franklin Pierce University to a 68-63 victory over the Le Moyne College men's basketball team in Northeast-10 Conference action on Wednesday night at The Fieldhouse.

First-year graduate student guard Isaiah Salter (Charlotte, N.C./Central Cabarrus/American International/Adelphi) led the Dolphins offensively with 18 points, 10 of which he scored in the second half. Sophomore guard Zy'Ever Wingfield (Richmond, Va./Henrico/Fork Union Military Academy) went 5-of-6 from the field en route to 10 points, while adding four rebounds and a pair of steals.

Traore recorded 11 of his game-high point total in the first half. Sean Bresnan turned in a double-double of 11 points and 11 rebounds to go with a team-best three assists. Trumper netted all 11 of his points in the second half.

Following three-pointers by first-year graduate student guard Mike DePersia (Cherry Hill, N.J./Haddonfield Memorial/IUPUI) and Salter to give the Dolphins an 8-4 lead, the Ravens ran off 14 straight points to take a double-digit lead. Traore drilled back-to-back three-pointers from the left wing to start the spree, Bresnan followed with a triple of his own, Shandon Brown hit a jumper, JB Mukeba converted a foul shot and then Traore capped the stretch with a jumper with 12:33 left.

Le Moyne answered with eight consecutive points to cut its deficit to two with 9:39 to go in the half. Wingfield made a jumper and a lay-up around a pair of free throws and a jumper by fourth-year junior guard Jeremiah Washington (Chicago, Ill./Bogan/Ferris State).

Following back-and-forth action over the next five minutes, the Dolphins scored six straight points to even the score at 26 with just over three minutes remaining. Salter buried a three-pointer, DePersia made a foul shot and then fourth-year junior forward Luke Sutherland (Syracuse, N.Y./West Genesee/Siena/Bryant) had a put-back lay-up to tie the score.

The Ravens scored the final four points of the half to take a 30-26 lead into halftime as Mukeba and Brandon Kolek made lay-ups.

Following back-and-forth play over the opening five and one-half minutes of the second half, the Ravens scored six straight points to open up a nine-point lead with just over 14 minutes remaining. Trumper made two free throws, Bresnan made a lay-up and then Traore knocked down a jumper for a 42-33 advantage.

After the teams traded points over the next four and one-half minutes as Franklin Pierce's lead bounced between five and nine points, the Dolphins followed with an 11-4 run to knot the score at 53 with 6:23 to play. Freshman guard Trent Mosquera (Brookline, Mass./Belmont Hill School) started the run with a three-pointer, Wingfield hit a jumper and Salter followed with a free throw after a flop was called on the Ravens. After a Franklin Pierce jumper, Washington nailed a three-pointer from straightaway and Wingfield then went coast-to-coast off a rebound to even the score with a lay-up.

Following ties at 55 and 57, Salter gave the Dolphins their first lead since 8-7 with a three-pointer with 3:46 remaining. Kolek connected on a three-pointer of his own at the 2:35 mark, but Salter followed 30 seconds later with another three-pointer to put the Dolphins back in front.

The Ravens tallied the final eight points to close out the game. Traore evened the score at 63 with 1:47 to play with his third three-pointer of the game. Trumper gave the Ravens the lead for good with a free throw with 1:04 left. After the Dolphins missed a shot on their next possession, Kolek drew a foul with 13 seconds left and made two foul shots. Le Moyne missed a potential game-tying three-pointer on its next trip down the court and then Kolek drew another foul. This time he missed both foul shots and the Dolphins grabbed the rebound and called timeout with 4.1 seconds left. Out of the timeout, they threw the ball away and Bresnan took possession and was fouled with 3.5 seconds left. He made both foul shots to finish off the game's scoring.
 
Le Moyne (3-5, 2-1 NE10), which has dropped three straight games to the Ravens in Rindge, returns home to host The College of Saint Rose on Saturday at 3:00 p.m.