Robinsen Baguidy and the Raiders suffered a tough last second loss at the hands of Norwich on Tuesday night in Nashua. (Courtesy photo by Nick Theodores/Rivier Athletics)

NASHUA – The Rivier men’s basketball team dropped a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) opponents Norwich, 62-61, Tuesday night at the Muldoon Center thanks to a Cadets hoop with 1.1 seconds left.

Norwich previously knocked down a three with 51 seconds remaining in the game to cut the Raiders’ lead to one.

With the loss, the Raiders dropped to 9-8 (2-2 GNAC), while the Cadets improved to 6-10 (1-2 GNAC).

HOW IT HAPPENED

Sophomore Steph Barnes opened the scoring with a layup, followed by first-year Daylen Dalcour finishing a layup and knocking down a three to give Rivier an early 7-4 lead.

Sophomore Matt Youngquist cashed in on a three at the 14:03 mark to take a 10-6 lead, but Norwich answered with a 7-0 run to take their first lead of the game, 13-10.

Dalcour converted another layup to retake the lead and spark a 15-4 run for the Raiders that was capped off by a driving layup from senior Robenson Baguidy, 25-17.

Baguidy cashed in on a three to build more separation with 2:57 to go and fueled yet another run that gave the Raiders a 40-24 advantage heading into halftime.

The Cadets chipped away at their deficit to open the half cutting what was a 16-point lead down to 4 by the halfway point of the second half.

Both teams continued to trade baskets for the next four minutes, with Baguidy and Youngquist leading the charge offensively with four and three points respectively over the four-minute stretch.

BOX SCORE BREAKDOWN

Baguidy and senior Izaiah Shaw-Glen each recorded 15 points, with Shaw-Glen grabbing nine rebounds…Youngquist added 11 points off the bench…Dalcour followed with 10 points and four rebounds.

UP NEXT

The Raiders return to play Saturday for a GNAC battle with Regis (Mass.). Tip-off is slated for 1 p.m. at Higgins Court.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

NORWICH 73, RIVIER 60

With the conference loss at the Muldoon, the Raiders fell to 2-15 (2-2 GNAC), while the Cadets improved to 7-8 (3-0 GNAC).

HOW IT HAPPENED

Sophomore Gianna Donato got things started with a layup off the opening jump however, Norwich countered with a 7-0 run over the span of 1:49.

The Raiders answered with a 6-0 run to regain the lead 8-7 with 4:03 to play in the first quarter. The Cadets added two buckets in the final 1:21 of the opening frame to take an 11-8 lead.

Junior Erika Fantauzzi began the second quarter with a three to tie the game off a helper from graduate student Juju Nealy. Both teams traded one-point leads over a 2:21 stretch with sophomore Hannah Smith finishing a layup to take a 28-27 lead.

Norwich answered with back-to-back triples, with Nealy connecting on a three in between, before sophomore Sydney Perry follow knocked down a jumper to tie the game at 33.

The Cadets grabbed a 35-33 lead on their final bucket of the half, but a Nealy’s three-pointer with nine second to go flipped the advantage to Rivier, 36-35, heading into halftime.

The contest mirrored the second quarter, as both teams traded leads to open the second half. Both sides traded baskets until junior Emily Coleman broke the 40-40 deadlock with a three-pointer at the 8:30 mark.

The Cadets got out to as much as a four-point lead in the third quarter, before Nealy knocked down yet another three to cut the deficit to one, 47-46.

Norwich fought back to their four-point advantage, but a made free throw from Perry brought the Raiders within three at the end of the third quarter.

The Cadets controlled the pass of play in the final frame, outscoring Rivier 22-12.

Norwich increased their lead to a 13-point margin with 6:10 to go in the contest.The Cadets maintained their double-digit lead throughout the remainder of the game.

BOX SCORE BREAKDOWN

Nealy paced the offense with 15 points, including a perfect 4-4 from the free throw line…Coleman recorded a career-best 11 points, while contributing three rebounds…Perry followed close behind with 10 points and six boards.

UP NEXT

The Raiders return to action Saturday for a GNAC matchup with Regis (Mass.). Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. at Higgins Court.