Raiders fall to St. Joseph's at home

(Nashua, N.H.) The Rivier Men's Basketball team fell to the visiting St. Joseph's College Monks in a GNAC conference clash at the Muldoon Gymnasium this evening by a score of 71-49. With the loss, the Raiders drop to 3-10 (2-4 GNAC) on the year while the Monks improved to 6-6 (4-2 GNAC).

The game, from the opening tip-off, was filled with excitement, and many big plays turned in by both the Raiders, and the visiting Monks. The Raiders started the game on a 16-11 run. Playing with toughness and speed, the Raiders took the game to the Monks early. St. Joseph's College however, was able to bounce back with an impressive run of their own with a 13-6 run late in the first half to put them up 29-17 with 5:26 remaining. The Raiders outscored the Monks 15-12 to round out the first half, but still found themselves trailing 41-32 heading into the break.

Freshmen Andre Ruff (Lowell, Mass.) continued his hot play for the Raiders, scoring 21 points, including five key 3-point shots that kept Rivier in the game. Ruff was able to also grab a team high 3 rebounds in the first half. Senior Steve Simonds (Steep Falls, Me.) was able to lead the Rams in scoring with 16 points, knocking down four 3-point shots in the first half. Simonds was also had a game high 4 rebounds heading into the break.

The Monks came out ready to play in the second half, beginning with a 20-4 run, which lead to the Raiders finding themselves down 61-35. Unfortunately for the Raiders, they were never able to find themselves a rhythm and fell in the second half.  

For their next contest, the Rivier Men's Basketball team will travel to Suffolk University to do battle with the Rams in a GNAC matchup. The game is set to take place Saturday, January 17^th at 1:00pm. The St. Joseph's College (Me.) will play host to a GNAC showdown as the visiting Anna Maria College Amcats looks to upend the Monks at home. This game will take play Saturday, January 17^th at 3:00 pm.