STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (4-3, 1-1 GNAC) defeated Rivier University (0-9, 0-2 GNAC), 87-74, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's basketball contest at the Harold Alfond Center on Saturday.
FIRST GLANCE:
Junior guard Ian Mileikis (Auburn, Maine) scored 21 points with six boards, five steals, and five assists and freshman guard Jack Casale (Portland, Maine/Cheverus) added 19 points, six boards, and four assists to help the Monks pick up their first conference victory of the season.
THE REST OF THE STORY:
With the teams trading shots early in the first half, Saint Joseph's broke a 23-23 tie with a 14-6 run, which was capped by a Darian Berry (Rochester, N.H.) three-pointer with 2:43 left in the first half. The Raiders countered with a 9-2 surge to cut their deficit to one point (39-38), but Berry stopped the run with a layup with 22 seconds on the first half clock, providing the hosts with a 41-38 lead heading into intermission.
Leading 55-47 with 14:11 remaining, the Monks registered an 18-8 run with senior forward Aaron Hall (Haverhill, Mass.) making it a 73-55 game after making a layup with 9:45 on the clock.
Saint Joseph's held a game-high 20-point (79-59) lead after Casale connected on one of two freebies at the 6:43 mark and Rivier made one last run, a 16-6 surge, to make it an 85-74 score four minutes later. The Raiders would not score another point, however, and junior forward Andrew Carroll (Douglas, Mass.) made a pair of free throws with 1:29 left to account for the 87-74 final.
LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:
- Berry added 13 points with five rebounds and two assists
- Hall tallied 13 points, six boards, and a pair of blocked shots
- Senior forward Quinn Richardson-Newton (Saco, Maine) contributed 10 points, six caroms, and two assists
- Freshman guard Tatsuaki Sakai (Japan) came off the bench to distribute five assists
LEADERS – RIVIER:
- Junior guard Angel Perez (Miami, Fla.) netted 20 points with a pair of steals
- Freshman guard Tarik Rivers (Stamford, Conn.) tallied 20 points with five assists and three boards
- Sophomore guard Kirk Palladino (Milford, N.H.) chipped in with 12 points and four rebounds
TEAM STATS:
Saint Joseph's posted advantages in rebounds (40-23), assists (23-10), points off turnovers (10-9), second-chance points (14-7), points in the paint (30-28), and bench points (27-20) in the victory.
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:
With the win, Saint Joseph's improves to 18-4 in the history of the series with Rivier University.
NEXT!
Saint Joseph's will play a pair of games in the Mauro Panaggio Tournament in Daytona, Florida starting with a contest versus Wooster on Sunday at 12:00 PM.
#GOMONKS
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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 474-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.
