Trailing by nine points with seven minutes remaining in the contest, the Suffolk University Men's Basketball team used five made three-point field goals for their second consecutive Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) road victory as they defeated Rivier University, 73-68 on Saturday afternoon.
Junior Sam Nwadike (Houston, Tx.) and Frantz Pinard (Arlington, Mass.) each finished the game with 18 points, with Pinard netting 16 as part of the second half comeback on 6-for-10 shooting from the field, including a pair of made three-pointers.
The win improves Suffolk to a 4-4 mark in GNAC play as they improve to 7-8 overall in the 2013-14 season.
After a layup by Raiders' sophomore Kywane Thomas (Hartford, Conn.) made it a 60-51 game with 6:57 to go, Suffolk would go on a quick 9-0 spurt as they connected on a trio of three pointers on their following possessions.
Junior Matt Powers (Westwood, Mass.) started the barrage as Nwadike and sophomore Caleb Unni (Winchester, Mass.) followed suit.
Rivier would answer as Nick Walch (Dedham, Mass.) connected on a jumper for two of his game's 20 points to give the Raiders a brief regain of the lead at 62-60.
Nwadike would follow up for Suffolk connecting a three-pointer off of a feed from Unni and knocked down the ensuing free-throw after being fouled on the play.
Senior Tom Poitras (Bow, N.H.) would even the game up for the Raiders at 64-64 with 3:58 on the clock when he put in a layup.
Pinard then gave the Rams the lead for good when he connected on his second trey of the half to give Suffolk the 67-64 edge with 3:27 on the clock.
Unni would space the Rams out with a layup later in the game as part of his 14-point effort in the game.
Poitras and Walch would combine for 40 points in the game for the Raiders as their bench contributed only two points. Walch recorded the double-double as he also finished with a game-high 10 rebounds.
Freshman Matt Duquette (Swampscott, Mass.) recorded a team-high nine rebounds to go along with eight points as Suffolk held the slight edge on the glass at 37-36.
Suffolk will be back in action on Tuesday evening as they host the Lasell College Lasers in a GNAC matchup beginning at 7:00pm at the Regan Gymnasium.