February 13, 2007
Eagles' Valiant Effort Falls Just Short To Rivier, 80-71

Box Score

A valiant effort for the Eagles just fell short against their longtime rivals. Jeff Carpenter (Meredith, N.H.) knocked down 20 points and Chris Giordano (Medford, Mass.) pulled down a double double of 11 points and 11 rebounds to help Rivier outlast upset minded Daniel Webster, 80-71 in an entertaining GNAC contest Tuesday night.

Jamie Bryant (Hartford, Conn.) led the host Eagles (6-15, 2-13 GNAC) with 20 points while Adam Greeno (Brandon, Vt.) added 17 including four three pointers. The game was a dramatically different - and closer - affair than Rivier’s 100-74 victory over the Eagles in January 23rd but it still allowed the Raiders to sweep the season series from their longtime cross town rivals.

The game saw 11 lead changes and six ties as the Raiders (16-8, 9-6 GNAC) won their second straight and upped their lead in the all time Nashua series to 23-10. Rivier finished with slight edges in rebounding (44-42) and shooting (45%-41%) on the night.

Lance Bisson (Nashua, N.H.) added 13 points to the Rivier cause, while John McMahon (Somerville, Mass.) added 12.

The Eagles were also paced by 12 points from Toby Jiminez (Worcester, Mass.) and 11 from Dan Haynes (Downsville, N.Y.), who knocked down three treys. Tyler Smith (Moultonborough, N.H.) added 10 rebounds.

Rivier took command early, building as much as a 10 point lead at 21-11 with 13 minutes to go in the first and 24-14 at the 11:14 mark. Ahead 36-28 after a Carpenter layup with 6:17 to go, the Eagles worked the lead down to two at 42-20 on a Bryant layup and took their first lead in more than 13 minutes on a Greeno trey for a 43-42 lead with 2:34 left. A Carpenter layup with five seconds to go in the period gave Rivier a 45-53 lead at the break.

The frenetic pace of the first half with the Eagles hitting 53% from the field (18-34) and the Raiders hitting 50% (18-36) began to show in the second as both teams slowly wore each other down and the pace slowed.

Tied at 55 with 13:39 to go, the teams managed to sink just one basket each over a span of 2:40. A Carpenter layup with 9:59 to go gave Rivier a 59-57 lead, one they would not relinquish, but the Eagles kept it a tight game until the closing seconds.

DWC was as close as three with 3:13 left and trailed 74-69 with 1:43 left. But after a missed scoring chance, Bisson nailed a huge three with 1:13 left to put the lead at eight, effectively sealing the win.

The Eagles, still alive for the eighth and final GNAC tournament berth, travel to Newbury for a non conference matchup Thursday at 7:00 p.m. and close the regular season at Johnson & Wales Saturday. Rivier travels to Albertus Magnus Saturday for a 1:30 p.m. meeting.