First-Ever GNAC Tourney Game at Alfond Yields SJC Victory STANDISH, ME - #3 Saint Joseph's (19-7, 11-6 GNAC) handled #6 Rivier College (14-12 , 9-9), 85-67, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference quarterfinal contest on Tuesday evening. Tyler Kelley '11 (Saco, ME) went 4-4 from downtown in the first half and netted 16 points and Chris Davis '11 (New York, NY) added 15 in the victory, which was achieved in the first GNAC tourney game to be played on the parquet at the Harold Alfond Center. The win, coupled with a lopsided upset victory by #7 Albertus Magnus over #2 Emerson College, means the Monks will host the Falcons in a conference semifinal game on Thursday.

St. Joe's led from buzzer to buzzer, but the game was closely contested as the victors did not hold a double-digit lead until 15 minutes had expired in the first stanza. The third time proved to be a charm for the Monks as Rivier, led by Lance Bisson '09 (Nashua, NH) and D.J. Poitras '11 (Bow, NH) with 17 points each, had defeated the Royal Blue twice during the regular season.

Kelley sparked the Monks with a three-pointer four seconds into the game as the hosts were on their way to building an 11-2 advantage in the first 3:48 of play. Rivier fired back into the game with a 13-5 surge and trailed by two, 16-14, after Felipe Lima '09 (Nashua, NH) made a shot from beyond the arc with 12:18 left in the first. The Monks were unable to gain a lead of more than seven points in the next seven minutes, as the teams essentially traded punches in a fast-paced stretch of play.

Scot Vachon '09 (Schenectady, NY) made his first of two freebies at the 5:49 mark to push the SJC lead to 36-28 and Kelley made his fourth trey of the contest 41 seconds later to provide his team with its first 10 point advantage. Alberto Rue '10 (Jamaica Plain, MA) connected on a three with 1:47 left and Alonso Davis '10 (Richmond, VA) went 3-4 from the charity stripe in the closing minutes to help St. Joe's stake a 48-36 lead heading into intermission. The Monks grabbed eight offensive boards in the first period, four by Chris Davis, and netted 15 second chance points off the caroms.
Rivier started the second half with a jumper from Bisson and trey from Nick Bean '11 (East Longmeadow, MA) to cut the deficit to 48-41, but the Monks increased the cushion back to 12 points after captain Mitch Ouellet '09 (Fort Kent, ME) sank both freebies with 16:28 to play.

St. Joe's would hang on to at least a 10-point lead for the remainder of the contest and went ahead by 18, 75-57, when Anthony Savino '11 (Portland, ME/Cheverus) made two free throws with 6:07 remaining. The Monks went 18-28 (64.3%), and 26-40 (65%) overall, from the line in the second half en route to the quarterfinal win. The 40 free throw attempts are the most in a game by St. Joe's this season.

The Monks held a commanding 46-30 advantage in rebounds, with 16 coming on the offensive end. St. Joe's outshot Rivier from the field, 45.5% (25-55) to 39.3% (24-61) and posted an impressive 47.4% (9-19) effort as a team from three-point distance in the win. The Raiders countered by shooting 22.7% (5-22) from downtown.

For St. Joe's, Vachon netted 11 points and four assists, Ray Eatmon '10 (Huntington, NY) had 10 rebounds and six points, Elbie Murphy '09 (Loudonville, NY) notched eight points and three blocks and Rue scored eight and added four boards. Alonso Davis logged valuable minutes off the bench, scoring eight points and grabbing six caroms in just 10 minutes on the floor.

For Rivier, Lima had 14 points and five boards, Kevin Harrington '09 (Center Ossipee, NH) added nine and Bisson dealt out seven assists. Poitras went 5-6 from the field and 7-9 from the free throw line in the losing effort.