STANDISH, Maine – Senior guard Steve Simonds (Steep Falls, Maine) netted 36 points with 10 rebounds and five assists to help lift Saint Joseph's College (9-9, 7-5 GNAC) past Rivier University (3-16, 2-10 GNAC), 97-68, in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's basketball action at the Harold Alfond Center on Wednesday evening.
The Monks owned a sizeable 54-37 lead heading into intermission after shooting 68.8% (11-16) from three-point distance and 63.6% (14-22) from the floor overall in the opening 20 minutes. Simonds scored 27 points in the first half alone, as the senior made six of eight bids from downtown and went 7-8 from the free throw line before the break.
The most recent member of the Monks' 1,000-Point Club, Simonds continued his hot streak and made a team-record nine three-pointers in tonight's victory. Prior to this evening, several SJC players drained eight treys in a single contest, with the most recent effort coming over 16 years ago when Carl Howell '99 nailed eight on December 2nd, 1998 against Atlantic Union. Simonds, the February 2nd GNAC Player of the Week, has averaged 32.8 points, 8.8 rebounds and 5.4 assists over the last five contests and currently leads the conference with a 22.8 PPG average.
Saint Joseph's opened tonight's conference contest with nine unanswered points and held a 28-5 cushion after junior Jake Downing (Simsbury, Conn.) made a freebie at the 12:27 mark of the first half. The Monks connected on nine-consecutive three-point attempts and did not misfire from beyond the arc until 13:38 elapsed in the opening frame.
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 cushion at halftime.
The Monks kicked off the second stanza 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. St. Joe's led by at least 20 points for the remainder of play and secured a game-high 32-point advantage after freshman guard Ruben Ramirez (Midland, Texas) connected on a pair of free throws, lifting the Royal Blue to a 90-58 cushion with 3:06 left to play.
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 charity stripe.
Ten different players scored in the win for the Monks, as Blodgett totaled 13 points, Downing added 12 in just seven minutes of playing time, and Quinn Richardson-Newton (Saco, Maine) and Craig Luschenat (Boston, Mass.) scored nine points apiece. Ramirez netted the first eight points of his career with four steals in nine minutes, while John Crawley (Fitchburg, Mass.), Reid Duglenski (Waterbury, Conn.), Sean Ford (Auburn, Maine) and Christian Nidoy (Anchorage, Alaska) all found the scoring ledger in the lopsided win.
Junior guard Jerome Diggs (Washington, D.C.) dealt a game-high seven assists for Saint Joseph's.
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 recorded 25 assists on 27 field goals and held a 16-9 advantage in points off turnovers on the evening.
With the win, Saint Joseph's improves to 14-3 all-time versus Rivier University and has now defeated the Raiders in 13 consecutive meetings dating back to the 2008-09 season. Tonight's point total (97) by the Monks is the most scored by either team in the 17-game history of the series.
Both teams hit the road for conference contests this Saturday, when Saint Joseph's plays at Norwich University in a 1:00 PM start and Rivier travels to Anna Maria College for a 3:00 PM tip-off.
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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.
