Hounds snap out of funk, outlast Ravens.

Byline: Dave Nordman

WORCESTER - Sometimes Assumption men's basketball coach Serge DeBari is more difficult to read than a medical textbook.

Take last night's game against Franklin Pierce, for example. When the Ravens made the first basket of the second half to take an eight-point lead, you might have expected DeBari to throw a fit.

After all, Franklin Pierce is the worst team - as far as records go - in the Northeast-10 Conference.

Instead, DeBari simply shook his head, folded his hands and took a seat. Was he concerned? Perhaps. Did he show it? Never.

"I knew we weren't playing our best basketball," said DeBari, whose team shot a dismal 23 percent before intermission.

The coach knew, sooner or later, the Greyhounds would snap out of their funk. And they did, using two second-half spurts to overwhelm the Ravens, 71-58, before a healthy crowd at Laska Gym.

Assumption won its second straight to improve to 15-5 (9-4 NE-10), while Franklin Pierce fell to 6-12 (2-11).

Junior Patrick Shea led the Greyhounds with a game-high 18 points, while sophomore point guard Courtland Bluford chipped in 14 and senior forward Mike Foti 12, all on 3-pointers.

But Assumption's offense was hardly a three-man show. Seven players scored at least six points, including freshman forward Mike Baldarelli (7), senior forward Greg Twomey (6), junior guard Mitch Bajema (6) and senior forward Corey Diethorn (6).

Diethorn, who entered the game averaging 14.6 points, missed all six shots he attempted in the first half before rebounding to go 3 for 3 after the break.

"The thing about this team is everyone contributes," said Shea, a 6-foot-7 forward from Salem, whose uncle, Tim, played basketball at Assumption and is now the athletic director and women's coach at Salem State.

"Even when one guy's struggling, the other guys are going to pick him up," Shea said.

The Greyhounds definitely needed some pick-me-up after making just one two-point field goal - a Twomey foul-line jumper - in the first half. Too many times, DeBari said, Assumption settled for long jumpers, hardly the Greyhounds' trademark.

"Coach talked about getting the ball inside," Shea said. "We're not an outside shooting team."

But it was an outside shot - a long 3-pointer by Foti - that provided the spark the Greyhounds needed. Twomey's headfirst dive after a loose ball in front of the Ravens' bench, resulting in an easy basket by Diethorn, didn't hurt, either.

"We knew we were a better team than we showed in the first half," Shea said.

A couple minutes later, another trey by Foti pulled Assumption to within three points. The Greyhounds then went inside to turn a 38-31 deficit into a 41-38 lead.

The 10-0 run began with a spinning shot in the paint by Shea and ended with a layup by Diethorn. Twomey's putback of a missed Shea free throw put Assumption ahead for the first time with 14:01 left.

But Franklin Pierce didn't quit. Three straight baskets by Jeff Manchester (team-high 17 points) helped the Ravens regain the lead, 45-44, with 10:37 to play.

It turned out to be their last lead.

The Greyhounds responded with a 12-0 run, this time heating up from the outside. A runner off the glass by Baldarelli, a left-side 3-pointer by Shea, a Baldarelli foul-line jumper, a Bajema right-side trey and two Shea free throws staked Assumption with a comfortable 56-45 lead with 6:30 left.

But the Greyhounds weren't finished. An ally-oop pass by Bajema and reverse layup by Diethorn, after baskets by Shea and Bluford, put the game well out of reach.

"We have a lot of respect for Franklin Pierce," DeBari said. "We knew they were a lot better than their record. They came to play and played hard."

Assumption shot 64 percent (18 of 28) from the field in the second half, making 3 of 5 attempts from behind the arc and 7 of 9 from the line.

But the most telling stat?

The Greyhounds outrebounded the Ravens, 15-14, after the break after Franklin Pierce had dominated the glass, 29-14, in the first half.

"We were being bullied down low," Shea said. "We knew we needed to play tougher, and we did."

NAME: ASSUMPTION COLLEGE

ART: PHOTOS

CUTLINE: (1) Assumption's Greg Twomey puts up a shot between Franklin Pierce's Mike Barrow, left, and Terrrell Ray. (2) Assumption's Alex Popp, left, and Patrick Shea, right, put up a wall around Franklin Pierce's Terrell Ray.

PHOTOG: T&G Staff/STEVE LANAVA