NASHUA, NH – Saint Joseph's College (4-4, 3-0 GNAC) recorded a 96-87 double-overtime victory over Rivier University (3-4, 0-2 GNAC) in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's basketball action on Saturday afternoon.
The Monks held a 43-31 lead going into intermission and led by as many as 16 points late in the first half, but the host-Raiders posted a 14-2 run spanning five minutes to secure a 52-51 edge with 10:47 remaining in the second period. Saint Joseph's quickly regained the advantage, but the contest was a two-possession proposition for Rivier until senior guard Nick Walch (Dedham, Mass.) converted a layup with 13 seconds left to knot the game at 75-apiece and force extra play.
St. Joe's, which never trailed in the first overtime period, raced out to an 80-75 lead in the first 46 seconds on the heals of a Zach Blodgett (Glenburn, Maine) layup and a Steve Simonds (Steep Falls, Maine) three-pointer. Trailing by four (82-78) with 26 seconds to play, Rivier senior forward Tom Poitras (Bow, N.H.) made a trifecta of his own to cut the hosts' deficit down to one point. SJC sophomore guard Jerome Diggs (Washington, D.C.) countered with what proved to be a vital pair of freebies five seconds later, as Poitras hit on his second three in a 14-second span to tie the game at 84-84, sending the contest to another OT period.
Saint Joseph's proceeded to put the game away in the second overtime, outscoring Rivier by a 12-3 margin in the five-minute frame en route to earning the 96-87 victory. The Monks made all eight of their free throw attempts in the latter OT frame and posted a perfect 10-10 effort from the charity stripe in extra play overall.
Not to be lost in the thrilling victory is the fact that senior guard Matthew Medeiros (Westport, Mass.) became the 36th 1,000-point scorer in the history of the Saint Joseph's College men's basketball program this afternoon. Needing 12 points to hit the four-digit mark, Medeiros – who went 7-10 from downtown and netted a game-high 29 in the triumph - hit the milestone on the nose with 7:20 remaining in the first half when he drained his fourth three-pointer of the contest.
Simonds also put forth a fine effort with 23 points, six rebounds and five assists while senior forward Nicholas Jobin (Westbrook, Maine) tallied 15 points and nine caroms and Diggs added 11 points off a 9-12 free-throw effort along with four boards and four steals. Blodgett left the bench to score 10 and junior guard Jordan Tripp (Maspeth, N.Y.) contributed six assists, four rebounds and a pair of steals on the afternoon.
Poitras paced the Raiders with 25 points and added five rebounds and three blocked shots while Walch posted 19 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals in the hard-fought loss. Junior Jake Nelson (Nashua, N.H.) tallied 14 points, six rebounds and four assists and senior guard Shawn Gareau (Hardwick, Mass.) chipped in six points, seven assists and five rebounds versus the Monks.
Overall, Saint Joseph's shot 53.4% (31-58) from the floor, 53.8% (14-26) from three-point distance and 74.1% (20-27) from the free throw line. Rivier was nearly as effective, posting a 44.8% (30-67) mark from the field along with 40.7% (11-27) and 72.7% (16-22) performances from downtown and the charity stripe, respectively.
The contest was the final game of the 2013 calendar year for Saint Joseph's, as the Monks do not play again until January 4th when the team plays the first of two tilts in the Catholic University Classic Tournament in Washington, D.C. The Raiders play at Anna Maria College on Monday at 7:00 PM.
GAME NOTES:
Saint Joseph's is now 11-3 in the history of the series with Rivier University…the Monks have defeated the Raiders in 10-consecutive meetings, a string that began during the 2008-09 campaign…this afternoon's contest was the Monks' first double-overtime game since the Royal Blue defeated Johnson & Wales University, 84-80, in 2OT at home on December 8th, 2010…today's combined point total (183) is the fourth-highest posted in a GNAC contest involving Saint Joseph's since the Monks joined the conference in 2007…96 points is the second-highest total the Monks have ever scored in a GNAC regular-season contest and today's output marks the third time – first since 2011 – the team has scored the same number…the Monks' highest scoring effort came in a 103-50 victory over Mount Ida College on January 19th, 2008…Saint Joseph's has now scored 90+ points in consecutive games for the first time since contests versus Johnson & Wales (106-90, L) and Lasell College (96-92 OT, W) on February 8th and 12th, 2011, respectively…Medeiros is the first SJC men's basketball player to surpass the 1,000-point mark since former teammate Chris Petzy '12 reached the plateau in 2011…the senior guard currently has 1,017 points over 87 career contests.
Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 430-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.
