BOSTON, Mass. - The Emmanuel College Men's Basketball Team used two periods of overtime to nip the visiting Raiders of Rivier College, 78-72, in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) match-up played in the Jean Yawkey Center on Thursday night.  The Saints, who trailed for much of the game, got a game-high 25 points from sophomore guard Isaiah Duke (Albany, N.Y.) in the win.  Emmanuel now stands at 3-8 on the season and is on a two-game GNAC win-streak at 2-3 in the league.  The loss drops the Raiders to 3-9 on the season and 0-5 in the GNAC.

After an initial free throw by Xavier Everson (Rochester, N.Y.) gave Emmanuel an early lead, the Raiders stormed out to a quick 11-3 advantage.  The 11 to 2 Rivier-run was sparked by back-to-back free throws and a three-pointer from Nick Bean (East Longmeadow, Mass.).

The visitors stretched their lead to as many as 12 points midway through the half, after two made free throws by Brian Troy (Keene, N.H.).    The Saints chipped away and managed to cut the lead to three points, 31-27, after a pair of freebies by Duke with just over a minute to go.  The Raiders then went on a 6-1 run to end the half and took a 37-28 lead into the locker room at halftime.

The Saints came out of the break on fire, as a jumper by Andre Fuller (Troy, N.Y.) was sandwiched between trifectas from Michael Mailhot (Norwich, Conn.) and Everson, cutting the deficit to one point, 39-38.  A put-back in the paint by Fuller gave the Saints their first lead of the game at 40-39 with 15:35 remaining.  However, Rivier regained control of the board quickly, after two free throws from Will Snider (Brooklyn, N.Y.). 

The Raiders held on to a solid five-point lead for the next ten minutes of play. Back-to-back buckets by Nate Jackson (Middleboro, Mass.) put Emmanuel on top, 51-50 with 4:17 to go.  A Rivier three-ball by Bean was matched with a baseline trey from Emmanuel's rookie guard Armani Gill (Boston, Mass.) and the Saints led again by a point, 54-53 with 3:25 to play.  Duke then netted a fast-break layup and was fouled on the play, putting the Saints up 56-53.  Duke's missed free throw led to a fast-break and-one dunk by Don Poitras (Bow, N.H.), which tied the contest at 56-all with 2:31 remaining.

Lay-ups by Everson and Fuller gave the Saints a 60-56 advantage with just over a minute to play.  A bucket by Poitras cut the margin to 60-58 with 47 ticks left.  An Emmanuel miss gave way to a scramble on the floor and Rivier came up with possession.  On the Raiders' final possession, Bean was fouled just inside the three-point line with .05 seconds on the clock.  He proceeded to nail both free throws, sending the game into the first of two overtimes, 60-60.

The first overtime featured a total of just 8 points being scored.  Rivier opened things up with two free throws by Elisha Robinson (Proctor, Vt.) and the Saints matched the score with a fast-break basket by Everson to forge the 5^th tie of the contest at 62-62 with 3:31 to go.  A pair of hoops from the line by Everson put Emmanuel up 64-62 with 2:22 on the clock.  The two teams played scoreless for the next two minutes, before Bean knotted the game again at 64-64.  The junior guard drained two more free throws with 32 seconds left and Emmanuel could not connect on its final possession, bringing the game into its second extra session.

The Saints out-scored the Raiders, 14-8, in the second overtime and led for four of the final five minutes.  The hosts put the visitors away early with a long-range three from Tony Carter-Hill (Baltimore, Md.) with 3:55 on the clock.  The Saints never looked back, with Duke scoring 7 points in the second O.T. and Mailhot draining 4 free throws down the stretch, as Emmanuel came away with the 78-72 win.

Duke finished one board shy of a double-double, scoring a game-high 25 points, hauling in 9 rebounds, and dishing out 3 assists in 43 minutes of action.  He led a quartet of double-figure scorers for Emmanuel.  Everson finished with a double-double of 12 points and a game-high 10 boards, while Mailhot and Fuller added 10 points apiece for the Saints.

Bean and Poitras led Rivier with 20 points apiece.  Snider chipped in with 8 points and dished out 5 assists in the effort.

Rivier will return to action on Saturday, January 16th, as they host Albertus Magnus College in another GNAC conference match-up.  Game time is scheduled for 1:00 PM.