NASHUA, N.H. – The Colby-Sawyer men's basketball team picked up a big Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) win on Thursday as the Chargers defeated granite-state rival Rivier University by a 75-68 final. Senior Conor Kelly (Charlestown, Mass.) posted a 18 point, 14 rebound double-double for Colby-Sawyer to lead the way past the Raiders. 

Rapid Recap: 

• Both teams struggled in the early going with the score knotted at 3-3 after six minutes of game action before sophomore Kevin Cummings (Portsmouth, N.H.) knocked down back-to-back triples to give the visitors an early lead. The Raiders came back to get within a point, but another 7-0 run highlighted by five more points from Cummings pushed the lead to 16-8. Rivier continued to battle taking their first lead at 28-27 with 4:16 left in the first half, but a triple by first year Daniel Jordan (Coral Springs, Fla.) and a layup by Kelly gave the lead back to the Chargers. Kelly continued to flourish in the paint with a 6-0 run alone to push the lead back to eight points headed into the break.
• The Chargers pushed the lead to double-digits early in the second half as senior Omar Boone (Colorado City, Texas) knocked down another three followed by a tough finish by senior Scott Lampron (Concord, N.H.) to get the lead to 43-30. The Raiders stormed back with a 18-5 run to tie the game at 48-48 with 14:05 to play. An old fashioned three-point play by Cummings gave the Chargers the lead back, but the Raiders countered again taking a 57-53 lead with 7:30 to go. Colby-Sawyer punched back with a 10-2 run with back-to-back threes by Jordan and senior Zack Caraballo (Salem, N.H.) to take back a four point advantage. The Raiders kept strong and got the game back to a single point with 2:11 left, but a keep mid-range jumper by Caraballo, followed by a pair of clutch free throws by Kelly put the game away for the Chargers. 

Player Spotlight:

"Coming back from New Years we had two tough losses", said senior Conor Kelly (Charlestown, Mass.). "We knew we really needed this win. All the guys held together and pulled through for the dub."

Notes & Notables:

• Kelly had his best game of the season so far with 18 points (7-12 FG, 4-9 FT), 14 rebounds, two assists and a block. Cummings registered a team-high 23 points (7-14 FG, 3-9 3-FG, 6-7 FT) to go with seven rebounds. Jordan tallied a career-high 11 points (3-5 FG, 3-5 3-FG, 2-4 FT) with four rebounds and a pair of assists. Caraballo added 10 points (3-4 FG, 2-2 3-FG, 2-2 FT), two assists and a pair of rebounds. 
• Nikolas Pignone paced the Raiders with 31 points (10-15 FG, 6-9 3-FG, 5-8 FT) and four assists. 

Up Next: 
The Chargers will stay on the road for another GNAC game against Elms College on January 11th.

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