STANDISH, Maine – Saint Joseph's College (14-4, 4-1 GNAC) overcame an early deficit to topple Rivier University (1-17, 0-6 GNAC), 99-69, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's basketball contest at the Harold Alfond Center on Wednesday evening.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The conference counterparts traded the lead five times and played to seven tie scores before the Monks claimed the advantage for good with a 10-2 run in the closing two minutes of the first half. Senior guard Ian Mileikis (Auburn, Maine) capped the surge with one second left in the half with a traditional three-point play, lifting the hosts to a 46-40 cushion heading into intermission.

The Monks continued to dominate early in the second stanza, particularly in the first nine minutes after the break when the hosts notched a 21-5 outburst. Freshman guard Zac Manoogian (Westbrook, Maine) closed out the run with a three-pointer with 11:06 left in the game to propel St. Joe's to a 75-49 lead.

Freshman guard Nicholas Curtis (Windham, Maine) hit a three-pointer with 3:49 remaining to extend the Monks' lead to a game-high 34 points (98-64).

STATS OF THE GAME:

The Monks held a 50-16 lead in points in the paint and shot 52.1% (38-73) from the floor…the Raiders stayed in the game by shooting 43.8% (14-32) in the first half, but cooled considerably in the second half with a 26.5% (9-34) clip and finished the game shooting 34.8% overall…St. Joe's dealt 27 assists on 38 field goals.

LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:

• Sophomore guard Jack Casale (Portland, Maine/Cheverus) scored 26 points off a 6-for-11 three-point shooting performance with nine rebounds and four assists
• Mileikis netted 18 points with seven boards, two assists, and a pair of steals
• Senior guard Darian Berry (Rochester, N.H.) added 15 points, three rebounds, and two assists
• Senior forward Marc Corey (Londonderry, N.H.) chipped in with nine points in 11 minutes
• Freshman forward David Keohan (West Newfield, Maine) came off the bench to net 12 points with five rebounds in 12 minutes
• Senior guard Jack Hostetler (Somers, Conn.) scored eight points coming off the bench

LEADERS – RIVIER:

• Junior forward Nate Hale (Nashua, N.H.) scored 22 points with three boards, two assists, and a pair of steals
• Senior forward Isaiah Marks (Brooklyn, N.Y.) added 15 points, two rebounds, and two assists
• Sophomore guard Tarik Rivers (Stamford, Conn.) chipped in with eight points and five assists

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:

Saint Joseph's is now 21-4 all-time versus Rivier University and has now defeated the Raiders in three-consecutive meetings.

NEXT!

Saint Joseph's will play at Anna Maria College in a conference contest on Saturday at 1:00 PM.

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