Monks silence Raiders 97-68

(Standish, Maine) The Rivier Men's Basketball team was defeated by the Saint Joseph's College Monks this evening by the score of 97-68. With the loss, the Raiders drop to 3-16 (2-10 GNAC). With the win, the Monks improve their record to 9-9 (7-5 GNAC).

Saint Joseph's opened tonight's conference contest with nine unanswered points and held a 28-5 lead after junior Jake Downing (Simsbury, Conn.) made a shot at the 12:27 mark of the first half. The Monks connected on nine-consecutive three-point attempts and did not miss until the 13:38 mark in the first half.

The Raiders posted a meager rally late in the first half, as the visitors trailed 45-31 after junior guard Cullen Donovan (Wethersfield, Conn.) capped a 10-1 run with a jumper at the 3:52 mark. Unable to overcome the Monks' impressive shooting effort, Rivier would get no closer to the lead as Saint Joseph's held a 54-37 lead at halftime.

To begin the second half, the Monks began the second half with an 11-4 scoring burst, as back to back buckets from senior forward Zach Blodgett (Glenburn, Maine) closed the run and extended the hosts' lead to 65-43 with 16:45 on the clock. The Raiders struggled in this one, as the Monks never allowed them to put anything together on offense. The game was all but over with 3 minutes left to play as the Monks had a commanding 90-58 lead.

Overall, Saint Joseph's shot 56.3% (27-48) from the field, 54.8% (17-31) from three-point range, and 72.2% (26-36) from the free throw line. Rivier countered by shooting 44.9% (22-49) from the floor, 21.1% (4-19) from downtown, and 80% (20-25) from the free throw line.

Rivier had good performances turned in by For Rivier, freshman guard Andre Ruff (Lowell, Mass.) scored 17 points with the help of an 8-8 effort from the free throw line while Kevin Francis (Cromwell, Conn.) and Kywane Thomas (Hartford, Conn.) tallied 11 points apiece in the losing effort.

Saint Joseph's had good performances turned in by Steve Simonds (Steep Falls, Maine) who was able to record 36 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists for the Monks. Zach Blodgett (Glenburn, Maine) added an additional 13 points while teammate Jake Downing (Simsbury, Conn.) added 12 points off of the bench.

Both teams will next play on the road for conference contests this Saturday, when Saint Joseph's play at Norwich University in a 1:00 PM start and Rivier travel to Anna Maria College for a 3:00 PM tip-off.