Saints Cruise in 102-69 Conference Win vs. Rivier

THE BASICS 
Emmanuel College, 102 vs. Rivier University, 69

Records: 
Emmanuel Saints (14-4, 10-0 GNAC)
Rivier Raiders (2-17, 0-11 GNAC)

Location: Boston, Mass. – Andy Yosinoff Court

Date: Thursday, January 25, 2023

THE LEAD – The Emmanuel College men's basketball team broke the 100-point threshold for the first time this season in their 102-69 victory over Rivier College on Thursday evening in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) hoops action on the Andy Yosinoff Court in Boston, Mass.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Over the first seven minutes of action, the squads traded hoops to a 14-13 score in favor of the Raiders following a triple by Colin Boucher (North Reading, Mass.). Over that span the game saw two ties and four lead changes before the Saints gained the upper hand midway through the frame.
• A three by EC senior guard Ricky Martin (Sicklerville, N.J.) with 4:56 to play in the half gave Emmanuel its first double-digit lead of the night at 34-24 and the Saints stretched that lead to 17 with under a minute in the stanza following a corner three by junior Ryan Grijalva (Stratham, N.H.) made it 48-31. Rivier responded with a pair of threes on their final two possessions including a buzzer beater off the backboard by Pharaoh Davis (Plainville, Mass.) to account for a 50-37 halftime score.
• EC junior Donte Pope (Middletown, Conn.) and Rivier senior Nikolas Pignone (Stoneham, Mass.) each netted 17 points in the opening half to pace each side.
• Emmanuel opened the second half with an 11-0 run to open things up to a 61-37 score after a three from junior Bryant Ciccio (Attleboro, Mass.), setting the tone for a big second half.
• The hosts would go on to shoot 50.0% from the field in the period (17-for-34) including an 8-for-15 performance from behind the line to account for a 52 point period as senior Brendan Kade (Summerville, S.C.) banked home a three in Emmanuel's final possession to break the 100 point marker for the first time this season in the 102-69 final.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Pope finished the evening with a double-double of 23 points and 10 rebounds on a fine shooting performance from the field (8-for-11).
• Pignone led all scorers with 24 points over 29 minutes of action.
• First year guard Zaire Baines (Queens, N.Y.) chipped in for EC with 16 points while Ciccio and Grijalva also ended the evening in double-figures with 14 and 13, respectively.
• Boucher was next for the Raiders with a season-high 17 point effort while Davis chipped in with 11 points.
• Kade finished with a career-high eight points.
• Emmanuel finished the night going 17-for-34 from three marking the program single-game record for most triples in a contest.
• EC improves to 34-8 all-time vs. Rivier and has won the last nine games played in Boston.

UP NEXT

• Emmanuel returns to the court on Saturday, January 28 against Anna Maria College at 1:00 PM in another GNAC contest.
• Rivier also is back on Saturday, hitting the road to Northfield, Vt. to face Norwich University in conference play scheduled to tip at 1:00 PM.