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MEN'S HOOPS DOWNED BY GNAC FOE RIVIER 85-77 SATURDAY

MEN'S HOOPS DOWNED BY GNAC FOE RIVIER 85-77 SATURDAY
Posted: Feb 05, 2011

The Mount Ida College men's basketball let hosting Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) foe Rivier College open up the game with a 10-1 run to set the tone en route to an 85-77 loss to the Raiders Saturday afternoon in Nashua, New Hampshire.  The Mustangs, who fall to Rivier for the second time this season, fall to an overall record of

The Raiders were firing on all cylinders to start the game as they led by as many as 26 points during the first half after a senior captain Don Poitras (Bow, NH) jumper put the home team up 41-15.  The Mustangs outscored the Raiders 12-6 over the final 3:30 of play to cut the halftime deficit to 19 points at 46-27.

The first 10 minutes of the second half remained much the same as the Raiders hung onto a 20 point lead for most of the way.  The Mustangs started chipping away, getting to within 13 points with five minutes left to play.  With 3:24 to play in the game Mount Ida guard David Gibbs (East Hartford, CT The Masters School/UMASS-Amherst) drained a three pointer to get the Mustangs within striking distance at 75-70, but that would be as close as the visiting Mustangs would get  as a Raiders 7-0 run would pad the lead over the next minute of play.

 Gibbs led the Mustangs with a game-high 28 points while three other players all reached double figures in points scored, junior's Isiah Benjamin(Windsor, CT/The Masters School) (11), Travis Hillery (Tyngsboro, MA/Central Catholic) (10) and Nick Lynch (Hampton Bays, NY/Hampton Bays) (13).  Junior captain Joe Cabral (Walpole, MA/Walpole) and Hillery each grabbed seven rebounds for Mount Ida.

The Raiders never trailed or allowed the Mustangs to tie the score during the entire game.  Poitras led the Raiders with 27 points and 10 rebounds while fellow senior Nick Bean (East Longmeadow, MA) added 24 points, hitting four 3-pointers during the game.  Sophomore Cliff Celestin (Braintree, MA) scored 13 points and had a team high 6 assists.

The Mustangs will travel to Albertus Magnus College Tuesday night another GNAC match-up with tip off slated for 7:00 p.m.