NASHUA, N.H. – Saint Joseph's College (3-9, 2-2 GNAC) defeated Rivier University (3-6, 0-3 GNAC), 76-66, in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's basketball action on Thursday evening.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Trailing 9-4 after five minutes of play, the Monks' offense came to life to the tune of a 19-5 run, which was capped by a David Keohan (West Newfield, Maine) layup and the visitors holding a 23-14 advantage with 9:43 before the break.

Although St. Joe's maintained the lead for the remainder of the game, Rivier made things interesting with a late surge and cut the SJC cushion down to three points (65-62) when Nikolas Pignone (Stoneham, Mass.) hit a three-pointer with 3:55 left to play. Following a timeout, the Monks rattled off nine unanswered points – including six from senior guard Griffin Foley (Portland, Maine) – to essentially clinch the conference victory.

STATS OF THE GAME:

The Monks held a 38-20 lead in points in the paint and scored 18 points off 16 Raider turnovers…St. Joe's shot 45.6% (31-68) from the floor while Rivier posted a 37.3% (25-67) mark from the field.

LEADERS – SAINT JOSEPH'S:

• Senior guard Nicholas Curtis (Windham, Maine) netted a game-high 23 points with six rebounds
• Foley netted 18 with six boards and a pair of steals
• Junior forward Ashtyn Abbott (Farmingdale, Maine) came off the bench to score 10 points and pull down nine caroms
• Keohan scored eight points off a 3-for-4 shooting effort in 12 minutes off the bench

LEADERS – RIVIER:

• Senior forward Miles Gillette (Washington, D.C.) registered a double-double with 20 points and 14 rebounds
• Pignone also scored 20 points and added three rebounds and a pair of steals
• Senior forward Will Parsons (Rowley, Mass.) left the bench to net 11 points

HISTORICALLY SPEAKING:

With the win, Saint Joseph's improves to 24-4 in the history of the series with Rivier University and has now defeated the Raiders in seven-consecutive meetings.

NEXT!

Saint Joseph's returns to conference play on Saturday with a 1:00 PM contest at Emmanuel College.

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