NASHUA, NH - Rivier College (10-8, 7-6 GNAC) shot a scorching 61.8% from the floor in a conference victory over St. Joe's (13-6, 7-5) on Monday evening. Chris Davis '11 (New York, NY) paced the Monks with 14 points and Ray Eatmon '10 (Huntington, NY) added 10 in the losing effort.

The Raiders shooting performance was consistent throughout, as the hosts shot 63% from the field in the first half and 61.8% in the second. The Monks were able to keep pace in the first stanza by shooting a respectable 46.7% from the floor before the break and maintained a slim 42-41 lead going into halftime.

Rivier continued to light it up in the second half with a 60.7% conversion rate from the floor and outscored St. Joe's, who shot just 24.2% in the closing half, 41-23. The Raiders managed to post a 16-2 run late in the second to take control of the conference contest.

Neither team held more than a five-point edge in the first half, as the lead changed hands four times and the contest was tied on five occasions in the opener.

Tyler Kelley ‘11 (Saco, ME) hit a shot from beyond the arc a minute into the second half to lift the Monks to a 45-41 lead, but five straight points from Kevin Harrington ‘09 (Center Ossipee, NH) provided the Raiders with a 48-47 advantage five minutes later. As it turned out, Rivier would not surrender the lead for the remainder of the contest.

Two minutes later, the Monks went on a 7-0 run, with the help of a 5-5 effort from the free throw line, to tie the game at 57 apiece with 10 minutes left. Rivier responded with the aforementioned 16-2 run in the following five minutes to secure a 73-59 lead, which proved too much for St. Joe's to overcome. Felipe Lima ‘09 (Nashua, NH) and Joe Granato ‘12 (Arlington, MA) combined to score 14 points for the hosts during the surge.

Rivier shot especially well - 63.2% (12-19) - from beyond the arc in the victory, while St. Joe's managed to connect on 27.2% (3-11) of their downtown bids. The Monks forced 15 Rivier turnovers and committed just eight miscues and also made 18-25 FT attempts in the loss, while the hosts got to the line just three times, making two.

For Saint Joseph's, Elbie Murphy ‘09 (Loudonville, NY) tallied nine points, six rebounds and five assists and Kelley also netted nine points. Scot Vachon ‘09 (Schenectady, NY) posted six assists and Eatmon grabbed six caroms in the loss.

For Rivier, Granato was 6-8 from downtown and scored a game-high 22 points and Lima chipped in with 17 points off an 8-11 effort from the field. Lance Bisson ‘09 (Nashua, NH) posted a double-double with 15 points and 10 dimes, while Harrington added 12 points and Luke Brownell ‘10 (Hubbardston, MA) scored 10.

Saint Joseph's will return to the court on Thursday when the Monks play host to the Rams of Suffolk University in a 7:00 PM GNAC contest. Rivier will travel to Norwich University to take on the Cadets on Thursday for a 7:00 PM tipoff.


Newspaper Box Score
St. Joseph's (Me.) vs Rivier College
02/02/09 7:00 PM at Nashua, NH (Muldoon HFC)
At Nashua, NH (Muldoon HFC)
RIVIER COLLEGE 82, ST. JOSEPH'S (ME.) 65
ST. JOSEPH'S (ME.) (13-6 (7-5))
Chris Davis 4-15 6-7 14; Ray Eatmon 5-9 0-0 10; Tyler Kelley 3-7 2-3 9;
Elbie Murphy 2-9 5-7 9; Chris Petzy 2-5 0-0 6; Alberto Rue 1-3 4-6 6;
Anthony Savino 3-3 0-0 6; Zach O'Brien 2-7 0-0 4; Scot Vachon 0-3 1-2 1;
Mitch Ouellet 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 22-63 18-25 65.
RIVIER COLLEGE (10-8(7-6))
Joe Granato 8-10 0-1 22; Felipe Lima 8-11 0-0 17; Lance Bisson 6-11 0-0 15;
Kevin Harrington 4-6 2-2 12; Luke Brownell 5-9 0-0 10; Dj Poitras 2-4 0-0 4;
Garon Whitney 1-3 0-0 2; John Murdock 0-0 0-0 0; Mark Williams 0-1 0-0 0;
Will Snider 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 34-55 2-3 82.
St. Joseph's (Me.)............ 42 23 - 65
Rivier College................ 41 41 - 82
3-point goals--St. Joseph's (Me.) 3-11 (Chris Petzy 2-3; Tyler Kelley 1-2;
Elbie Murphy 0-3; Alberto Rue 0-2; Chris Davis 0-1), Rivier College 12-19
(Joe Granato 6-8; Lance Bisson 3-4; Kevin Harrington 2-3; Felipe Lima 1-2;
Garon Whitney 0-2). Fouled out--St. Joseph's (Me.)-None, Rivier
College-None. Rebounds--St. Joseph's (Me.) 29 (Ray Eatmon 6; Elbie Murphy
6), Rivier College 31 (Dj Poitras 8). Assists--St. Joseph's (Me.) 17 (Scot
Vachon 6), Rivier College 24 (Lance Bisson 10). Total fouls--St. Joseph's
(Me.) 14, Rivier College 20. Technical fouls--St. Joseph's (Me.)-None,
Rivier College-None.