The Rivier College Raiders (10-7, 5-5 GNAC) used a monster second half to top the Suffolk University Rams (5-12, 3-7 GNAC), 92-75 on Saturday afternoon at the Regan Gymnasium. Rivier outscored Suffolk 54-30 in the final twenty minutes of play after going into the intermission trailing by seven.
Senior Nick Bean (East Longmeadow, Mass.) led all scorers with 25 points as he went 6-for-10 from three-point land to lead the Raiders to their fifth win in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) action. All five of the Raiders starters finished the game in double digits in points, totaling 76.
The Rams played a strong first half as they used strong defensive pressure forcing 13 Raiders' turnovers. Suffolk was able to build their largest lead of the game twelve minutes into the contest as sophomore Matt Pepdjonovic (Quincy, Mass.) put in a layup as the Suffolk center scored 11 of his 21 points in the first half.
The Raiders would open up the second half with a 20-4 run over a ten minute span, capped by a three-pointer by Bean to push their lead to 10, 65-55.
Suffolk couldn't get any closer than five points after a layup by sophomore Colin Halpin (Melrose, Mass.) cut the Rivier lead to 78-73 with four minutes left.
Rivier would follow up going on a 14-0 run, capped off by another trey by Bean to seal the Rams' fate.
Halpin finished the game with 12 points for Suffolk, while junior Justin Barall (East Hampton, Conn.) scored eight points, with a team-high six assists. Pepdjonovic led the Rams with 21 points, and also had six blocked shots. Senior Mike Fleming (Exeter, N.H.) had eight points along with four steals.
Freshman Tom Poitras (Bow, N.H.) scored 12 points and had a team-high nine rebounds, while brother Don Poitras (Bow, N.H.) had 18 points and five blocks for the Raiders. Junior Will Snider (Brooklyn, N.Y.) shot a perfect 10-for-10 from the free-throw line en route to a 14 point effort, while sophomore Cliff Celestin (Braintree, Mass.) rounded out the starting five with 17 points.
During Saturday's both Suffolk University Men's Basketball Head Coach Adam Nelson and his counterpart Dave Morisette of Rivier College wore sneakers, instead of shoes, along with their customary business suits during Saturday's contest as part of Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers Awareness Weekend.
The Coaches vs. Cancer nationwide demonstration is a collaborative initiative of the American Cancer Society and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) that empowers coaches, their teams and local communities to make a difference in the fight against cancer through January 28-30.
It is the sixth year in a row that Nelson and his coaching staff have participated in this event. Nelson reflected on his participation in this demonstration before Saturday's game. "This is a very special cause, that myself along with our coaching staff here at Suffolk have been proud to be a part of for several years. It's a special time for us to reflect on how fortunate we are to be able to do what we love on a daily basis and also use basketball as a tool to bring awareness for life's bigger issues in our community."
Both teams will be back in GNAC action early next week. Rivier will travel to Emerson on Monday evening to take on the Lions at 7:00pm. Suffolk will host Lasell College at the Regan Gymnasium on Tuesday evening at 7:30pm.