NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The Albertus Magnus College men's basketball team defeated the Raiders of Rivier University on Saturday afternoon in a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) clash by a final score of 97-78. 

Terry Dawkins (Bronx, N.Y.) and Justice Washington (Hamden, Conn.) led the way for the Falcons, with both securing double-doubles. Dawkins scored 16 points with 14 rebounds for his first of the season, while Washington added 15 points and 11 rebounds for his third straight double-double.    

THE BASICS
Final: Albertus Magnus 97 | Rivier 78    
Records: Albertus Magnus (5-1, 3-0 GNAC) | Rivier (3-5, 0-2 GNAC)     
Box Score

HOW IT HAPPENED
The first two minutes saw two lead changes and a tie until a layup from Washington ignited a 14-2 run that put the Falcons up 12, 18-6, five minutes into regulation, forcing Rivier to call a timeout. Out of the break, Rivier broke its scoreless drought at the 14:38 mark on a layup from Kevin Redley and used that basket to start a 6-0 run that forced Albertus to call a timeout at the 13:32 mark, despite leading by eight, 20-12.

Rivier didn't back down offensively as the Raiders rallied to within two on two occasions until back-to-back baskets from Kevin Crawford (Bridgeport, Conn.) and Mekhi Warren (New Haven, Conn.) gave the Falcons a six-point cushion, 26-20. It was an offensive battle between the two teams over the next four minutes as the Falcons maintained their lead and found themselves up 10, 40-30, following a made layup from Robby Simmons (Hartford, Conn.) at the 4:41 minute mark. 

From there, Albertus maintained a double-digit lead until the 2:22 mark as Rivier found themselves within seven, 46-39, following a deep three from Will Parsons, but back-to-back three's from Rob Tindley (Lawnside, N.J.) and Davon Warner (New Haven, Conn.), at the buzzer, gave the Falcons a 13-point advantage, 52-39, at the half.   

Albertus and Rivier came out to play to start off the second by trading baskets offensively and forcing turnovers on defense. Over a span of eight minutes, both teams scored 11 points, with the Falcons still maintaining a double-digit lead heading into the final 10 minutes of regulation. 

The Raiders continued to threaten the Falcons' double-digit lead, but every time the visitors got close to single digits, the Falcons answered back with a made basket. The closest the Raiders got to the Falcons was at the 5:37 mark as Miles Gillette hit two free throws, but a layup from Washington and a three-point play from Dawkins returned the lead to 15, 83-68, with 4:11 left to play. 

With the clock winding down, Albertus slowly began to pull away from the Raiders to remain undefeated in conference play and improve to 3-0. 

TEAM STATS 

• Albertus: 41.64 % FG | 34.5 % 3PT | 68.2 % FT
• Rivier: 42.9 % FG | 33.3 % 3PT | 77.4 % FT

KEY PERFORMERS
Albertus:

• Tyreek Perkins - 20 points (6-17 FG, 4-7 3PT, 4-5 FT) | 5 rebounds | 5 assists | 2 steals
• Justice Washington - 15 points (7-10 FG, 1-2 FT) | 11 rebounds | 1 assist | 2 blocks | 2 steals
• Terry Dawkins - 16 points (5-10 FG, 0-1 3PT,  6-8 FT) | 14 rebounds | 1 steal
• Robby Simmons - 14 points (5-10 FG, 2-3 3PT, 2-2 FT) | 4 rebounds 

Rivier:

• Miles Gillette - 27 points (8-15 FG, 2-6 3PT, 9-11 FT) | 14 rebounds | 1 assist | 1 steal | 2 blocks
• Pharaoh Davis- 15 points (2-9 FG, 11-14 3PT) | 3 rebounds | 2 assists  | 2 steals
• Kevin Redler - 11 points (5-10 FG, 1-4 3PT) | 2 rebounds | 1 assist 

NOTEWORTHY

• This is the Falcons 52nd meeting with the Raiders. 
• The Falcons hold the edge in the all-time series with a 34-18 mark. 
• Washington has four double-doubles this season. 
• Dawkins' double-double was his first of the season.
• Dawkins scored a season-high 16 points. 
• Simmons had a season-high 14 points. 
• Perkins recorded his third game this season with 20+ points.
• With tonight's win, Perkins has accumulated 949 career points, putting him 51 points away from joining the 1000-point club. 
• The Falcons set new season-highs in defensive rebounds (31) and total rebounds (52). 

UP NEXT

The men's basketball team returns to the court on Thursday, Dec. 16 with a home non-conference tilt against Mitchell College. Tip-off is set for 7 PM in New Haven, Conn.