STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (9-2) toppled Rivier University (1-10), 117-62, in the opening game of the 2018 Catholic Classic at the Harold Alfond Center on Saturday afternoon. Emmanuel College (8-3) edged Regis College (4-6), 73-64, in the 3:00 PM contest.

Catholic Classic play concludes tomorrow, when Regis and Rivier face off at 1:00 PM and the Monks host Emmanuel in a 3:00 PM tip-off.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Saint Joseph's dominated early and held a 19-2 lead after senior Marc Corey (Londonderry, N.H.) hit a layup 4:27 into the game. After missing their first shot, the Monks connected on eight-consecutive attempts en route to securing the 17-point cushion.

Saint Joseph's proceeded to lead by at least 15 points for the remainder of the contest, including a 68-29 advantage at the break, and held a game-high 58-point (115-57) after sophomore Michael Ferrie (North Kingstown, R.I.) made a layup with 3:16 left to play.

BEYOND THE BOX:

For the Monks, the first-half scoring output (68) is the most scored in a half since SJC netted 70 in the second stanza of a 118-81 triumph over University of New England on December 30th, 2017. Prior to this afternoon, St. Joe's had not scored as many as 68 points in the first half since the start of the 1999-00 season (points per half stats not shown in statistical archive before the 1999-00 campaign).

The triple-digit scoring output is the Monks' third this season and 200th in the 48-year history of the SJC Men's Basketball program. The last time St. Joe's scored 100 or more in three different games during the same season occurred during the 2002-03 campaign, when the Monks put up triple digits in wins over Lyndon State, Castleton, and Southern Maine.

Today's victory extends the Monks' winning streak to eight games, the program's longest since the Royal Blue posted a nine gamer during the 2013-14 season.

STATS OF THE GAME:

The Monks had much success driving to the basket and held a 54-24 advantage in points in the paint…St. Joe's shot 56.9% (41-72) from the floor while Rivier posted a 31.5% (23-73) effort from the field.

LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:

• Senior guard Darian Berry (Rochester, N.H.) led four SJC players in double-digits with 22 points (including 20 in the first half) and added five rebounds, four assists, and four steals
• Sophomore guard Jack Casale (Portland, Maine/Cheverus) netted 19 points with a game-high nine rebounds and contributed five assists
• Corey was 7-7 from the floor, 2-2 from downtown, and 1-1 from the FT line with 17 points and three boards
• Senior guard Ian Mileikis (Auburn, Maine) chipped in with 15 points, five caroms, and six assists
• Freshman guard Nicholas Curtis (Windham, Maine) came off the bench to score nine points with six assists
• Freshman forward David Keohan (Saco, Maine) added nine points and four rebounds

LEADERS – RIVIER:

• Junior forward Nate Hale (Nashua, N.H.) was 9-14 from the field with 22 points
• Junior guard Issaiah Chappell (Sunapee, N.H.) came off the bench to score 10 points over 14 minutes

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:

With the triumph, Saint Joseph's improves to 20-4 all-time versus Rivier University and has now defeated the Raiders in three-consecutive meetings.

EMMANUEL 73, REGIS 64

HOW IT HAPPENED:

With the score tied 7-7 4:30 into the first half, the Saints notched an 11-2 run, capped by an Emmett Riddick (Waterbury, Conn.) layup, to claim an 18-9 cushion with 13:28 left in the opening frame.

The Pride quickly cut their deficit to three points (20-17) over the following four minutes and trailed by just six points (35-29) heading into intermission.

Emmanuel essentially put the game away right off the bat in the second stanza, as the Saints rattled off 10 unanswered points, including four from Riddick, on the way to claiming a game-high 16-point cushion (45-29) lead with 15:56 remaining.

The Saints went on to lead by double digits for the better part of the closing 15 minutes, save for a pair of Regis layups in the closing 30 seconds that accounted for the nine-point winning margin.

STATS OF THE GAME:

Emmanuel posted a 19-8 lead in points in the paint with a 17-10 advantage in points off turnovers.

LEADERS – EMMANUEL:

• Sophomore forward Marcus Fox (Danbury, Conn.) was 8-8 from the FT line with game-highs of 23 points and 10 rebounds
• Riddick added 18 points and four assists
• Senior Isaiah Ruffen (Haverhill, Mass.) pulled down nine boards and scored six points
• Senior guard Joe Tamburro (South Windsor, Conn.) came off the bench to contribute nine points, six rebounds, and four assists

LEADERS – REGIS:

• Senior forward Jordan Seldon (Dorchester, Mass.) scored 12 points with four rebounds and three assists
• Junior guard Dimitri Rosa (Tiverton, R.I.) was 4-5 from the floor and 3-4 from three-point distance with 11 points