Nashua, NH- The Raiders (7-15, 4-11 GNAC) took a step closer to their goal of making the playoffs as they defeated the Saints of Emmanuel College (4-18, 3-12 GNAC) 75-67.  The Raiders put the pedal to the floor in the second half as they shot 58% from the floor by getting the ball inside for easy lay-ups.  The Raiders also beat the Saints at the free throw line as they were able to convert 75% of them in the game, which helped the Raiders end the game.  The Raider's defense also played fairly well as they forced 18 turnovers in the game and kept the Saints to just 29% shooting from 3 point land.   

The Raiders got off on a fast start as they took an early 5-0 lead on the Emmanuel Saints as Don Poitras (Bow, NH) completed an old fashion 3 point play by putting in a lay-up and making the free throw.  Emmanuel responded with a 10-0 run of their own with a couple of lay-ups by Xavier Everson (Rochester, NY) to bring the score to within one.  The next time down for the Saints, Andre Fuller (Troy, NY) got an offensive rebound and threw it down with authority to bring the score to 8-5 with just over 16 minutes to go.  After another lay-up by Everson, Brian Troy (Keene, NH) took the pass from Will Snyder (Brooklyn, NY), and hit the first 3 pointer of the game to bring the Raiders within 2 with 10 minutes gone in the half.  After the teams went back and forth, Eric Spenbauer (Niagara Falls, NY) had another bucket inside to extend the Saints largest lead of the game to 10 with 7 minutes to go in the half.  With the half coming to an end, the Raiders caught on fire as they went on a 16-2 run on the Saints to take a 31-24 lead.  The Saints were able to bring the score to 31-28 after a couple of lay ups by Connor Morgan (Chepachet, RI) and Spanbauer to end the half.    

Michael Mailhot (Norwich, CT) started off the second half for the Saints with a 3 pointer and a couple of free throws to take a 33-31 lead, but senior Luke Brownell (Hubbardston, MA) tied it back up with a jumper from the elbow.  As the teams went back and forth, the Raiders went on a 13-5 point run to go up 54-45 for the Raiders largest lead in the game with about 8 minutes to go in the game.  After a 3 pointer from Bean to take a 12 point lead, Mailhot responded with a 3 pointer of his own to bring the Saints within 9 points with 6 minutes left.  With just under two and a half minutes to go, Poitras hit a baby hook over Spanbauer to bring the lead back to 12 points.  The Raiders hit 9 of their last 12 free throws to seal the game with a final score of 75-67.

Poitras had a solid game on the offensive side as he went 9-16 from the floor for a total of 22 points and collected 6 rebounds as he had to sit out a good chunk of time in the first half due an injury.  Troy kept his strong freshman campaign going as he put in 18 points on the night by going 5-10 from the floor and went 6-6 from the free throw line.  Bean also had a nice all around game as he put in 15 points and dished out 3 assists.

The Saints were led by Everson with 19 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists on the night.  Mailhot went 3-5 from behind the arc and had a total of 13 points for Emmanuel.  Connor Morgan had a solid night for the Saints by scoring 11 points and grabbing 5 boards.

With only three regular season games left, the Raiders are in the driver's seat for the final play-off spot.  Rivier will face top seeded Albertus Magnus next on Saturday Feb. 13th at 3:00 PM in New Haven, CT.