NASHUA, N.H. -- Mount Ida College dropped a tight Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) men's basketball contest on the road at Rivier University by a 70-65 final score on Tuesday evening at Muldoon Gymnasium.

The Mustangs held a 34-31 lead at halftime, but saw that lead disappear with two straight three-pointers by the Riaders to start the second half, and the hosts would not relinquish the lead again, despite Mount Ida cutting the deficit to just one point with 4:44 left to play.

Mount Ida drops to 5-6 (1-3 GNAC) with the defeat, while the Raiders (2-9) even their conference mark at 2-2.

Junior Ethan Dujon (Warwick, R.I.) netted 15 points and sophomore Joey DeFillippi (Bristol, Conn.) chipped in 12 points and four assists in the five point loss for the Mustangs this evening. Sophomore Kevin Conner (Mansfield, Mass.) pulled down a team high six rebounds with sophomore John Oliver (North Babylon, N.Y.) adding 10 points.

Senior Anthony Simmons (Stamford, Conn.) paced the Raider offense with 15 points and junior Kevin Francis (Cromwell, Conn.) added 13 points while collecting six rebounds. Senior Edward Soucie (South Ryegate, Vt.) led defensive effort with seven rebounds and freshman Isaiah Ruffen (Haverhill, Mass.) dished out four assists. Sophomore Andre Ruff (Chicago, Ill.) added nine points to help seal the win. The Raiders held the advantage in shooting percentage, 43.6% to 29.2% and the teams were even with 40 rebounds apiece.

Both teams will be back in GNAC action on Thursday evening as Mount Ida will travel to Suffolk University for an 8pm scheduled contest and the Raiders will head to Johnson and Wales University for a 7pm tip-off.