Sharp Shooting Pushes Rivier Past Men’s Basketball
| Final | 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Rivier (14-11,7-7 Great) | 45 | 46 | 91 |
|
Mitchell (14-9,6-6 Great N) | 35 | 31 | 66 |
NEW LONDON, Conn. – The Rivier University men's basketball team shot 57.1% from the floor on Tuesday night and used their best shooting game of the season thus far to sail past Mitchell College, 91-66, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) game at the Yarnall Athletic Center.
Senior Jaylyn Clardy (Pensacola, Fla.) was the lone Mitchell player to score in double-figures, finishing with 22 points and 10 rebounds, good for his third double-double of the season. Senior Wilton Causey (Worcester, Mass.) added eight points, five rebounds, and a pair of steals for the Mariners, who shot a season-low 31.2% overall and were just 4-18 from downtown.
A first half that featured six ties and five lead changes saw the score knotted up at 34-34 with 2:56 remaining in the half. An 11-3 run to close the frame pushed Rivier ahead by 10, 45-35 at intermission. The Raiders came out of the locker room and used a 9-4 run to push further ahead, highlighted by three straight three-pointers in the span of just over a minute by Matt Constant. The Mariners chipped away and were able to remain within shouting distance for the early portion of the second half, but the red-hot shooting by the visiting squad was too much for Mitchell to handle and allowed them to eventually pull away, as Rivier led by as much as 28 down the stretch.
Constant led all scorers with 28 points, including an 8-13 mark from downtown. Kyler Bosse poured in 20 points for Rivier, who had five players finish in double-figures scoring.
The Raiders narrowly won the rebounding battle, 40-37, and turned the ball over 15 times, to just eight for Mitchell. Both teams finished with an identical free throw percentage of 63.6%, while Rivier shot 42.9% from deep.
The Mariners (14-9, 6-6 GNAC) will return to action on Thursday, February 20, when they travel to Dean College to complete a game that had to be postponed on February 12. Resumption of the game is scheduled for 6:00 pm. Rivier wraps up their regular season with a 14-11 overall record (7-7 GNAC), and will wait to see their fate in the upcoming GNAC Men's Basketball Tournament.
