NASHUA, N.H. – The Rivier men's basketball team held off a furious Mitchell comeback to earn a 71–68 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) victory Wednesday night at the Muldoon Center.

With the win, Rivier improves to 8-7 overall (2-1 GNAC), while Mitchell falls to 4-11 (0-3 GNAC).

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Rivier jumped out early behind senior Izaiah Shaw-Glen, who scored on consecutive layups and a free throw to give the Raiders a 7–4 lead at 17:18 of the first half
• Shaw-Glen continued his dominance in the paint, adding two more layups to push the lead to 18–10 at the 9:39 mark
• Senior Robenson Baguidy drilled a driving layup at 8:42 to cap a 6–0 run, giving Rivier its largest first-half lead at 20–10
• Mitchell responded with a three-pointer at 7:10 followed by a layup by at 6:34 to cut the deficit to three
• The Raiders closed the half strong as Baguidy hit two free throws and first-year Daylen Dalcour converted a jumper off a steal with eight seconds left, sending Rivier into halftime up 34–25.
• In the second half, the Raiders extended its lead to 45–29 after Baguidy buried a second-chance three-pointer at 15:52 and Shaw-Glen scored inside at 16:37.
• The Mariners stormed back with back-to-back threes at 8:04 and 7:20 to make it 59–52.
• Mitchell once again used their strong perimeter shooting to bring the contest within one at 60–59.
• The Mariners continued to stay hot, regaining the lead for the first time since the beginning of the game behind a key three and interior scoring at the 3:44 mark to make the score 66-61.
• Shaw-Glen answered with a 8-0 individual run in the final 54 seconds of action, knocking down a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 68–66, then scored a layup off a turnover and converted the go-ahead free throw with 38 seconds left
• Shaw-Glen sealed the win at the line, sinking two free throws with 11 seconds remaining for the final margin of 71–68.

BOX SCORE BREAKDOWN

• Shaw-Glen recorded a game-high 33 points, 7 rebounds, 3 blocks, and shot 10-of-11 from the line.
• Baguidy added 17 points, 7 assists, 7 rebounds.
• Sophomore Matt Youngquist grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.
• As a team Rivier shot 44.6% from the field, 71% from the line, and scored 32 points in the paint.

UP NEXT
Rivier continues GNAC play on Saturday, Jan. 17, hosting Lasell at the Muldoon Center. Tip-off is set for noon.